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Tag: NLNG

  • NLNG seeks govt’s support for Trains 7&8

    NLNG seeks govt’s support for Trains 7&8

    The Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (NLNG) has sought the support of the Federal Government for its proposed Trains 7& 8, a vehicle that it intends to leverage to expand the frontiers of processing and exporting gas globally.

    Its former Managing Director, Mr. Godswill Ihetu, said investing in gas processing and exporting is an ambitious one, which requires the support of its shareholders, adding that financial and material support from major partners are needed to achieve the desired result of sourcing for new markets  to boost the NLNG earnings.

    Ihetu told The Nation that Trains 7& 8 is a multi-billion dollar project that will boost the nation’s economy when it is completed, adding that Nigeria LNG is taking its time on the issue in view of its cost implications, approval from the government and building the plants.

    He said: “It is difficult stating the amount of money that would be expended on the project due to the sensitive nature of the oil and gas industry, more so, when NLNG has not mentioned the amount of money, which Trains 7&8 would gulp. The NLNG do not have a reliable figure yet, but given the fact the six Trains cost $9.4billion, one can have an idea of the cost of the proposed Trains, when one calculates and adds the inflation cost in the last few years the existing trains were installed.”

    According to him, the cost of buildings LNG Trains is high such that the Federal Government cannot bear it, adding that the need to involve Shell and two other oil majors in NLNG is imperative to achieve the goal of encouraging the growth of gas externally is imperative.

    He explained the three key elements needed, which include getting solid funding, seeking a viable market outside the shores of Nigeria and signing of Special Purchase Agreements (SPAs). These elements are important for obtaining Final Investment Decision (FID) for the two Trains. He urged the shareholders to work together to achieve the goal.

    Building of LNG Trains, Ihetu said, can only be effective, when the markets are available prior to the signing of Final Investment Decision.

    On Brass LNG and Olokola LNG, he said the two projects from inception were of great importance to the Federal Government, adding that funding has delayed their take-off.

    “Efforts were galvanised toward achieving the success of Brass and Olokola LNG, but the government does not have the money to make the projects work. This has prevented the two LNG projects from getting Final Investment Decisions needed for marketing gas abroad.  The thinking of the government then was that the cost of building two separate LN G plants would be too heavy for it to bear. The government was considering other projects under sleeve, which needed huge funding, therefore, did not deem it necessary to spend so much on the gas projects,” he added.

    He said President Muhammadu Buhari’s regime resuscitated the idea of establishing the Nigerian NLNG Limited by setting up what he described as LNG Working Committee between 1984 and1985, adding that the Committee formed what later transformed into Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas in May 1989.

  • Planned NLNG Act’s amendment causes stir

    Planned NLNG Act’s amendment causes stir

    It was time to debate the proposed bill for an amendment of the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Act before the National Assembly at a forum organised by energy reporters in Lagos. The bill seeks to compel the NLNG to pay three per cent of its yearly budget to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). Will the amendment be carried? EMEKA UGWUANYI, AKINOLA AJIBADE and AMBROSE NNAJI report.

    It was a no-holds-barred argument involving oil and gas industry stakeholders and a member of the House of Representatives, Simon Yakubu Arobo, on the proposed amendment to the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Act. A bill, which is before the National Assembly, was on whether the amendment would be in the interest of Nigerians, or it would strangle the goose that lays the golden egg.

    It all happened at a forum organised by the Association of Energy Correspondents of Nigeria. The controversy over the amendment started in  February, last year, when Senator Patrick Nwaoboshi alleged that the NLNG had refused to pay its NDDC levy since it started commercial operation 16 years ago.  By that action, he claimed, the company had broken the law.

    Not long after Nwaoboshi’s statement, the House of Representatives backed his proposal for the NLNG’s (fiscal incentives, guaranteed and assurances) Act, Cap N87 of 2004 amendment. The 2004 Act exempts the NLNG from paying the NDDC levy.

    To the lawmakers, the NLNG has continued to hide under the pretext that the NLNG (Fiscal incentives, Guarantees and Assurances) Act exempted it from such contributions or payments.

    Discussing the implications of the amendment, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Mentor Energy Consulting Limited, Mr. Victor Eromosele, said efforts to compel the NLNG to start paying the NDDC levy does not speak well of the country. According to him, the agreement between the Federal Government and NLNG must stand. To rescind on agreement as being planned by the National Assembly will not portray Nigeria as a dependable country to investors. He noted that the idea to have the LNG project by Nigeria was on the table for 30 years before the NLNG agreed to take the risk. Besides, the NLNG, according to him, is only a gas processing company and not gas producing company, adding that the NDDC Act stipulates that a gas producing company, like the NLNG, is not supposed to pay the NDDC levy.

    “The action of the legislators on the issue of amending the NLNG Act was wrong. It sends wrong signal to investors. Investors would be wondering why the country is changing its laws. Issues relating to contracts between the NLNG and its foreign investors would be adversely affected by the planned amendment,” he said.

    Former Minister of Power, Prof. Barth Nnaji,  said as a country, Nigeria’s yes must always remain so. Not yes at a point and no at the other. According to him, it kills investment and investors’ appetite to invest, adding that Nigeria should be a country that respects sanctity of agreement.

    To the Head, Energy Research Desk of Ecobank, Mr. Dalapo Oni, to compel the NLNG to pay the NDDC levy amounts to double taxation because the gas producer has already paid the levy. Besides, the timing of the proposed amendment is wrong. To him, considering the state of the economy, the lawmakers ought to be concerned about how to grow the economy, create more jobs, and build more LNG companies and plants. “We need to monetise our gas. We need to build more LNG firms,” he said.

    He asked the National Assembly which option was better, to support  investments’ inflow to develop more LNG plants and monetise gas or force a gas processing company  to pay NDDC levy?

    According to him, the National Assembly ought to be more concerned with reviving the OKLNG and Brass LNG as well as new LNG companies, adding that the lawmakers should be supporting the actualisation of the NLNG’s Trains 7&8, which will create 18,000 jobs and attract billions of dollars in investments.

    Oni, however, assumed that the current fight to force the NLNG to pay the NDDC levy was not a colouration from the past battle between the NDDC and the NLNG on the same issue of paying the levy. He noted that there are several gas processing companies that are not paying the NDDC levy and they are not being pursued as they have done to NLNG. “Instead of stifling companies that are doing well, we should focus on creating more viable firms,” he added.

    He continued: “The NLNG is proudly the country’s biggest and most successful indigenous company, run by 100 per cent Nigerian management and over 95 per cent Nigerian staff, yet competing effectively globally. Till today, it is the country’s highest tax payer and the fourth largest supplier of LNG in the world.

    “As one of the shareholders, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) gets dividends from the NLNG and the government also gets taxes from the NLNG, and when it has to part with that percentage of its budget for the NDDC, the amount they can share as dividends will also reduce because that will come from their profit.

    “We lose gas export window because right now, different LNG plants are being developed around the world including Mozambique, Tanzania, Cameron, Angola, and the Equatorial Guinea, and eventually the demand for our gas will be less, and normally, supply will affect the pricing of the LNG.”

    NLNG’s General Manager, External Relations, Dr. Kudo Eresia-Eke said the National Assembly is established to legislate for the country, urging the lawmakers to exercise restraints on issues affecting the existence of the country. He said the revenue the firm generates annually for the government is huge, adding that it is the country’s major revenue earner next to crude oil.

    “We cannot say that the National Assembly should not do its job, especially as regards making and amending law, but should tread softly on issues that can affect the earnings of the country.  The country’s interest should be paramount above other interests. The power the National Assembly has is our (Nigerians) power, and it should be used in our interest.”

    Arobo, a member of the House of Representatives’ Committee on Gas, had a different view. He said the NLNG cannot tie Nigeria’s hands forever.  “As a sovereign nation, we can review laws. We are not driving investors, we just want the NLNG to comply with the laws of the land. We now know that it is right and just for it to make such payment, especially when they have enjoyed these incentives for more than 27 years,” he said.

    He continued: “Senate will not renege on its promise to amend the Act that is guiding the operation of the NLNG. The National Assembly can amend the Constitution of Nigeria. The legislative arm has the power to amend the Act that is guiding the existence or operation of an entity including the NLNG.

    “The National Assembly  has been empowered by Section 4 of the Constitution to legislate on issues affecting the existence of a corporate entity called Nigeria and the Senate is working in accordance with the interest of Nigerians.

    “There is no law in perpetuity. There is no law anywhere in the world that says that an Act cannot be amended or touched by a legally constituted authority like the Senate. Nigeria is a sovereign nation and has the duty to review an Act that shortchanged its patrimony. Now, what is wrong in asking the NLNG  that is a gas processing company, to make contributions regarding its operation, as provided by the constitution. Those people that have been saying that the Senate should not tamper with the Act that sets up NLNG are basically saying the law guiding the operation of the company should be there forever. We at the National Assembly cannot do that. We are a sovereign nation and there is nowhere in the world where an Act cannot be reviewed or amended.”

  • NLNG chief seeks human capital development in oil, gas

    NLNG chief seeks human capital development in oil, gas

    The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (NLNG), Mr. Tony Attah Monday, has called on engineers in the oil and gas industry to acquire cutting-edge competence to enable them harness the nation’s vast natural resources and grow the economy.

    Attah spoke at the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Young Professionals Workshop in Lagos.

    He said the industry has been pivotal to the economic wins in the past five decades and still remains so till date, stressing the need for competent professionals who will sustain and develop the sector.

    He said: “It, therefore, becomes imperative for the Society of Petroleum Engineers and similar professional associations to stimulate the availability of enabling facilities to nurture and grow the professionals and the technology which will deliver the dividends from the sector to the nation’s economy.

    “In view of this urgent need to support the development of world-class training structure for engineers, Nigeria LNG Limited spearheaded the improvement of the study of engineering in Nigeria’s top Federal Universities in the six geo-political zones of the country, through its University Support Programme (USP) and through which we recently donated buildings and equipment with a total value of $12 million.

    “Under the programme, Nigeria LNG built and equipped six engineering research laboratories in Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, University of Ilorin, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, University of Ibadan, University of Port Harcourt and University of Maiduguri.”

    Highlighting NLNG’s contribution to the development of human capital in the industry, Attah said NLNG also provides technical training for young Nigerians in the Bonny Vocational Centre situated on Bonny Island.

    “The NLNG vocational centre has trained over a thousand Nigerians in related occupational areas such as electrical installation, fabrication, welding and pipeline work, mechanical fitting, building construction, ICT system support and many others. Our focus is to sustain the development of skilled manpower to support the technical field,” he added.

    He said professional associations such as SPE should promote efforts to develop competence, whether through the public sector or the private sector to support a thriving oil and gas sector as well as to overall economic development.

  • Bonny Youth coalition decries neglect by NLNG in contract award

    The Youth Coalition for Good Governance, Bonny chapter, has urged the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, to call to order management of the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Company on alleged neglect of Niger Delta youths.

    Its Chairman in Bonny, Abarasi Halliday, who was with the Secretary, Eric Hart, yesterday in Port Harcourt, decried the lack of empowerment of Niger Delta youths, especially those on Bonny Island, by NLNG.

    The group stressed that Niger Delta youths have suffered for too long, and urged the minister to intervene.

    “NLNG does not have any Bonny indigene at its top management level, where decisions  are taken, even though we have qualified persons. Instead, we are only considered for low-cadre jobs as cleaners, gatekeepers, messengers, drivers and office clerks.

    “The managing directors of NLNG are always outsiders/non-Niger Delta indigenes. We have made a series of attempts to get NLNG to correct the neglect for peaceful co-existence, but to no avail, as most times, soldiers are used to threaten and intimidate us. The non-Niger Deltans at the helm of affairs in NLNG consider only their people for employment and contracts…

    “None of our people is considered worthy and qualified for contracts. Instead, it is outsiders, mostly northerners, who do the major contracts in NLNG and occupy the important positions, while we have indigenous contractors far more qualified people. This is an aberration we have endured for too long. Hence, our request that it must end.

    “A particular case is the contract for the supply of security patrol vessels by NLNG. Although our qualified contractors applied, information available to us indicates that NLNG is about awarding the contract to Aquashield and Homeland Securities, owned by northerners, to the detriment of contractors from our area.

    “The marginalisation has been made possible because the top management of NLNG deciding award of contracts are from the North…”

    The group said the neglect had been the major cause of hostilities witnessed in the region, leading to attacks on oil and gas facilities.

    “We are surprised that the Federal Government and oil and gas companies have failed to respond to peaceful moves.

    “Bonny people, Rivers State indigenes and all Niger Deltans are determined to resist the marginalisation.

    “The minister should direct the managing director, Procurements manager and others in NLNG to order. Contracts must be given to our companies, which have been prequalified technically.

    “Our people must be placed in the top management of NLNG, so we can participate in decision-making and protect the interest of our youths.”

     

  • NIPCO has world-class gas plant, NLNG chief

    NIPCO has world-class gas plant, NLNG chief

    Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas limited (NLNG) Managing Director,  Mr. Tony Attah, has described NIPCO Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) terminal as a world class facility.

    He described the plant as a game changer in the industry,  adding that it could assist the nation effectively.

    Attah spoke during a facility tour of NIPCO terminal in Lagos. He said the operations and the human capital of the company were worthy of emulation in the quest to deepen LPG access nationwide.

    “I never in my wildest imagination believed that this kind of facility exists in Apapa. The mental picture I have of Apapa is just a congested area, but coming to NIPCO, I can see that beyond the congestion, there is quite a lot of value for Nigeria through the operations of NIPCO Plc,” he said.

    The  NLNG chief noted that NIPCO does not only have an advantage of operating in front of three or four  jetties receiving both white products and gas but also investing heavily to upscale the amount of LPG that it can be received into its facility.

    Attah said: “For me NIPCO is a real game changer and we are committed to continue to support the company and indeed Nigeria to bring about the positive change in terms of energy availability for Nigeria.”

    He noted that there is a big scope for the company to strengthen the handshake, deepen the partnership between NLNG and NIPCO, adding “we stay committed to the partnership and most importantly, we stay committed to Nigeria.”

    Attah restated NLNG’s commitment to Nigeria, stressing that the company’s vision is to be a global player in the LNG market and to help build a better Nigeria, adding that part of it is its direct involvement in the LPG space.

    He said as at 2007, Nigeria was doing only about 50,000 tonnes of LPG before NLNG gom glad to say that as at 2016, NLNG’s LPG contribution to Nigeria was well over 25,000 tonnes with a plan to increase it to 300,000 tonnes this year.

    NIPCO Group Managing Director, Mr. Venkataraman Venkatapathy, confirmed NLNG as the biggest producer of LPG locally and has played commendable role in supplying LPG for domestic consumption.

    He recalled that NIPCO’s entry into the LPG business in 2009 was in apparent response to Federal Government’s call for genuine investors to improve LPG access to Nigerians through provision of infrastructure that could aid supply.

    According to him, the historic completion of the 4,800 MT facilities in 2008 and the unparalleled support of NLNG encouraged NIPCO to commence construction of the largest LPG facility in Africa (5,000MT) in continuous effort to improve access, facilitate gas evacuation across the country and quick turnaround of NLNG vessels.

    He told the visiting NLNG delegation that safety remains the company’s watchword as it has never experienced any lost time injury (LTI) in its operations since 2009.

    Venkatapathy informed the team that NIPCO has excellent relationship with off-takers for obvious reasons including proximity to jetty, enduring LPG business operations, improved loading and weighing facilities to ensure accuracy of product loaded, and faster turnaround, among others. These factors  make NIPCO first choice LPG terminal.

     

  • ‘NLNG Act amendment amounts to double taxation’

    The Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (NLNG) General Manager, Production,  Tayo Oginni, has said amending the NLNG Act would lead to double taxation. This is because gas suppliers are already paying NLNG  the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) three per cent levy.

    Oginni, according to the firm’s General Manager, External Relations Division, Kudo Eresia-Eke, spoke  while briefing international media correspondents and the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Managing Director, Mr Bayo  Onanuga, when they visited the NLNG plant facility in Bonny, Rivers State.

    The planned amendment, he said,  was inimical to the oil and gas industry, especially when the country should be developing its vast gas resources and attracting foreign direct investments into the country.

    He said after nearly 30 years of attempting to start the LNG project in Nigeria, it was the enactment of the NLNG Act that made it possible for the NLNG to be established. NLNG’s   establishment facilitated the Final Investment  Decisions (FIDs) for the six train, which earned the country the reputation of the first growing NLNG project in the world. The milestone, Oginni said, would be watered down by attempts to change the rules of the game built into the Act.

    Recounting his experience with the NLNG project,  he said the loss of hope experienced prior to the incorporation of the NLNG again manifested in the NLNG’s bid to expand its production facility with Trains 7 and 8 as a result of lack of investment in the upstream sector to guarantee gas supplies.

    He called on the Federal Government to preserve the sanctity of agreement in the NLNG Act and pass the Petroleum Industry Bill to spur exponential growth in the oil and gas industry in the country.

    “The Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) Fiscal Incentives, Guarantees and Assurances Act (NLNG Actallowed investments to flow into the country. It provided investors the confidence that any agreement entered into would be respected and preserved. To amend the Act will not help Nigeria, NLNG and its hopes for expansion. It will erode investors’ confidence that the Act provided in the first place,”he said.

    He pointed out that the imminent requirement of over $1 billion investment every year in the upstream for the next few years in order to guarantee steady gas supply to ensure that NLNG’s Trains 1 – 6 can be kept full over the contracted life of the plant, will be impossible with the amendment.

    “It will also mean an immediate loss of foreign investment of US$25 billion in respect of Trains 7 and 8 investment ($15 billion by the upstream and USD$10 billion for construction). This will also cost the Niger Delta region and the country about 18,000 jobs required for the construction activities of the new trains,” he added.

    Commenting on the achievements by the NLNG, the company, he said, generated $90 billion in revenues as at 2015, paid $5.7 billion in taxes as well as committed more than $200 million to corporate social responsibility (CSR) projects in the Niger Delta, especially in capacity building and infrastructure development. He said the  company was to commit some N60 billion to see the Bonny-Bodo road come into reality and commit N3 billion annually for the next 25 years to transform Bonny into another Dubai.

  • Battle for NLNG’s soul

    Battle for NLNG’s soul

    I knew it would not just pull through without a fight. But, I never knew the fight would be this epic. The battle for and against the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited is gaining supporters by the day. The latest entrant to the ring is Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike. NLNG Limited’s operational base is in Bonny Island, Rivers State. Wike believes NLNG deserves to be protected and he is mobilising for it. This means there are chances of seeing other governors from the region queuing behind Wike to join NLNG Limited’s squad against the National Assembly.

    It is all about the move to amend the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited Act. The Rivers governor does not believe there is any need for the Act to be tampered with. He plans to stop the amendment, which has already received the blessing of the House of Representatives. All eyes are now on the Senate, which is yet to concur.

    Wike’s position is not shared by the Traditional Rulers of Oil Mineral Producing Communities of Nigeria (TROMPCON), which wants the amendment concluded as soon as possible.

    The monarchs from the nine crude oil-producing states have berated the NLNG Limited for kicking against the amendment.

    The TROMPCON members, in their position paper read by the National Chairman, HRM Eze Akuwuez Ikegwuruku, the paramount ruler of Mgbirichi/Abakuru land in Ohaji/Egbema Local Government Area of Imo State, enumerated what they considered the benefits of the amendment.

    “The NLNG, as a gas-processing company, must be made to comply with Section 14 (1) (b) of the NDDC Act, which stipulates that 3 per cent of the total annual budget of any oil producing company operating onshore and offshore in the Niger Delta,  including gas processing, under which NLNG is supposed to be, goes to the NDDC.

    “While we acknowledge the fact that Section 2 of the NLNG Act gives NLNG what is called a tax-relief period, the fiscal incentives are very clear in terms of their duration, as they are purely for a period of ten years. NLNG has enjoyed the incentives for almost 18 years, without paying levies, because the law says the incentives commenced on the commencement of first operation. We all know that the first train came into operation in September 1999.”

    As far as Wike is concerned, the monarchs can tell that to the marines. Speaking  on Tuesday night at the Government House Port Harcourt during a visit by the management of the NLNG Limited, Wike said the state government would mobilise the  state’s representatives at the National Assembly to ensure that the amendment fails. He also wants the Federal Government to work against it because of the negative multiplier effect it would have on the economy.

    The Act, which started out as a military decree, has been in existence for close to 30 years. If the amendment is allowed, our jewel of inestimable value and Bonny Island’s dearest will never be the same again.

    The amendment aims to end the company’s status as dollar denominated, which was agreed on to protect the company against Naira’s flip-flop. The National Assembly also seeks to make its subsidiary, Bonny Gas Transport Company, pay tax in Nigeria. It also plans to make NLNG pay three per cent of its annual revenue to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), pay three per cent of gross freight on international inbound and outbound cargo to NIMASA, pay two per cent of contracts performed by companies engaged in cabotage and pay one per cent of any contract award upstream to the government.

    Bonny Island, where NLNG is located, was without form until Shell the light. Mobil saw it later. The Nigerian LNG Limited saw it over two decades ago when work started on Africa’s largest LNG plant. They all liked the place and the promise there. The Federal Government, which has interest in all of these ventures, too knows what the country stands to gain from Bonny Island, which hosts the country’s only port of origin.

    Of these companies in Bonny, NLNG seems dearest to the indigenes. It is their pride. Through it, they enjoy uninterrupted power supply, among other dividends. For Nigeria, it is both our pride and cash-cow.

    You will understand better what NLNG means to Nigeria if you listened to Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Group Managing Director (GMD) Dr. Maikanti Baru  some months back on an NTA programme.

    To Baru, the Bonny NLNG is one of the biggest success stories of the oil and gas industry. This company, Baru said, has generated $90 billion revenue, $30 billion dividends and contributed four per cent to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Baru believes this move against the NLNG Act has dampened the optimism of investors in the industry.

    “The review of the NLNG Act by the National Assembly is causing a challenge for the Federal Government and the IOCs and it is sending wrong signals to the international community about how business is done in the country,” he said.

    The NLNG has been a darling and should be allowed to remain so. Let me cite this particular example: When President Muhammadu Buhari came in, the Federal Government initiated a bailout package for states owing their workers. The bulk of the money which made up the N400 billion package came from proceeds from the Bonny Island, Finima, Rivers State-based company.

    This darling, which was incorporated some 30 years ago but its first cargo of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) did not leave the Bonny Port until ten years later, rose so fast that it became the fourth largest supplier of LNG. The company has also paid over $5.5billion as Companies Income Tax, Tertiary Education Tax, WHT, VAT and PAYE. Regulators’ levies and other fees have led to the company coughing out over N51billion.

    Former Coordinating Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala visited the NLNG Plant on Bonny Island, Rivers State on November 15, 2013. She described the NLNG as an asset to Nigeria, a shining example of a successful company and a beacon of hope for a better Nigeria. She described the NLNG as the most successful Nigerian company with 49 per cent government ownership.

    The planned seventh train of the NLNG plant will bring in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) estimated at over $8 billion, help reduce flared gas and improve the country’s revenue profile. With Train 7, the NLNG, said industry watchers, would provide about 10,000 jobs. Since it opened shop in Bonny, NLNG Limited has provided over 2,000 jobs each construction year and 18,000 jobs at the peak of construction. The government, they said, will also reap an additional $2.2 billion annually in dividend.

    This Act under threat is a contract between the Federal Government and the NLNG shareholders. The thrusts of this contract include incentives, concessions, guarantees and assurances, which were reaffirmed in Letters of Assurance to lenders for the Nigeria LNG Trains 4 and 5 expansions by the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Justice and the Central Bank.

    The incentives, concessions, guarantees and assurances are not uncommon in the global LNG industry. They are used in countries, such as Qatar, Oman, Malaysia, Angola and others to support and grow their LNG plants. The guarantees are to assure foreign investors that their investments will be protected.

    These alterations planned by the National Assembly are against the guarantees and assurances Nigeria entered into with the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and others. The National Assembly needs to forget its feeling that the NLNG is enjoying a rare privilege. Firms in free trade zones enjoy almost absolute exemptions from taxes and levies. NLNG enjoys partial exemptions. Since 2010, it started paying Companies Income Tax, because its exemption from this expired in 2009.

    My final take: The sponsors of the amendment believe the NLNG has cheated the people of the Niger Delta by not contributing to the purse of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). I do not share this sentiment because even the bulk of the money released for the development of the region has ended up in private pockets. There are also reasons to believe that the brains behind the amendment are into it because of what they have gained and what they still stand to gain.

  • Fed Govt must not allow amendment of the NLNG Act, says Wike

    Fed Govt must not allow amendment of the NLNG Act, says Wike

    Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike has urged the Federal Government not to allow the passage of the amendment to the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited Bill.

    Wike said his administration  would always defend the economy of Rivers State and the Southsouth geo-political zone. The government, he said, would join forces with other governors  of  the zone  to stop the amendment of Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited Bill .

    Speaking  on Tuesday night at the Government House Port Harcourt during a visit by the management of the NLNG Limited, Wike said the state government would mobilise the  state’s representatives at the National Assembly to ensure that the NLNG  Limited remains in good stead to continue with her operations.

    The governor  also stated that agitations in the Southsouth have remained rife, because  the authorities  ignore  the  geo-political zone, even though the people  produce the wealth that sustains the nation.

    He urged the Federal Government not to allow the amendment of the NLNG act to sail through at the National Assembly because of the negative multiplier effect it would on the economy.

    He said: “Anything that will affect the economy of Rivers State, we will always fight it. It is about Rivers State. “

    The governor commended the management of the NLNG for offering to partner with the Federal Government to construct the all-important Bodo -Bonny Bridge.

    “I thank you for the Bodo-Bonny  bridge.  I hope it is not political.  I have always advocated for this important bridge. I thank  the NLNG  for telling the Federal Government that they are willing to put down money for the construction of the bridge, “ the governor said.

    He pointed out that the people of the Southsouth geo-political zone always agitate for better investment of their resources in their respective communities  because of the neglect they continue  to suffer.

    He said: “A big company like NLNG  Limited generates funds for the country, yet the Bodo-Bonny bridge that will create access to Bonny has not been  constructed. “

    The governor regretted that the focus of the Federal Government is on the major ethnic groups, saying that because the Hausas and Igbos are involved  in conflict, a national meeting  has been called.

    “When it is Southsouth, Nigeria never called a meeting. But because Arewa has given  a quit notice to Igbo and Igbo have replied, now we are to sit down and talk. But when the problem was here, nobody  said ‘sit down and let’s  talk about these people’s problems’.

    “Those who are causing this crisis are those who refuse to listen to the yearnings and cries of the people.”

    He urged the management of the NLNG Limited to bring the construction of the Ship Building Dockyard to the state for the improvement of the economy of Rivers State.

    The governor also called on the NLNG Limited to act on the agreement it entered with the Rivers State Government for the rehabilitation of schools with N4billion.

    NLNG Limited Managing Director Tony Attah appealed to the Rivers State government to work with other stakeholders  to ensure that the NLNG Limited bill is not amended  as it will negatively affect the operation of the company in the international stage.

    He said the NLNG Limited is operating 6 trains which generates more than 20 million tonnes which makes it the fourth in the global ranking of LNGs . He added that the NLNG Limited is building trains 7 and 8, which will take the capacity of the NLNG to 30million tonnes and make it third in the world.

    He said: “I must say that the train 7 and 8 which will be in Rivers State have the potential to bring more than 18, 000 jobs into the state with up to $20billion investments once we take the final decision “.

    He said the amendment of the NLNG Limited Act would lead to loss of international  confidence, which have negative effect on the economy.

    “It will be most unfortunate. We believe that if this  bill is amended, it will not be  good for NLNG, it will not be good for Rivers State and it will not be good the oil and gas industry”, he said.

  • Bayelsa commends FG for citing new fertilizer, petrochemical plant in Brass

    Bayelsa commends FG for citing new fertilizer, petrochemical plant in Brass

    The Bayelsa Government has commended the Federal Government for citing a multi-billion dollar private sector-driven fertilizer and petrochemical plant in Brass.

    The state Governor, Seriake Dickson gave the commendation when he led the Amanyanabo of Twon Brass, Commodore Alfred Diete-Spiff (rtd), and a team of private investors on a thank you visit to the Acting President Yemi Osinbajo.

    According to Dickson, we are also here to discuss other issues concerning the take-off of the project.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Brass is a Local Government Area in Bayelsa State, with headquarters in the town of Twon-Brass on Brass Island along the coast.

    It has a coastline of approximately 90 km on the Bight of Bonny.

    Dickson told state House Correspondents on Tuesday that the project would create enormous jobs and transform the economy of the state and the country at large.

    The governor assured investors of adequate security.

    “We came to discuss issues on the Brass Fertilizer Project billed to take off in Bayelsa. That is a big ticket investment running into billions of dollars.

    “The government team is here, the traditional ruler is here because the project is taking place in his domain.

    “We are here to assure the Federal Government and investors that Bayelsa as they all know is one of the safest states in the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

    “We have worked hard in the last five years I have been governor to bring that about.’’

    The governor also commended the Federal Government for its new approach in pursuing integrated development in the country based on partnership and collaboration evidenced by the fertilizer plant.

    Dickson noted that the Acting President’s dialogue on behalf of President Muhammadu Buhari with  Niger Delta stakeholders, saying that a new understanding was emerging for the stability, security and development of the region.

    “It is when we bring big ticket investments, create jobs and we affect the economy and create other legitimate options through which young people can survive that some of the crises that we see here will be addressed.

    “This is a good way to begin to address that and that is why I am here to assure the Federal Government and investors for the steps so far taken.’’

    The governor also commended the Federal Government for directing oil producing companies that did not have offices in Bayelsa to open offices in the state.

    He recalled that the story of oil exploration began in Bayelsa but lamented that it was shocking that no oil company had an office in the state.

    Dickson expressed concern that the state had been denied the economic benefits of oil production.

    “There are no jobs, no employment, they don’t even pay much tax, and a number of them don’t even pay tax at all.

    “The Federal Government has said that they should go back.

    “So we expect to work with the Federal Government and engage with all the oil producing companies to see how they can begin to have respectable presence.’’

    Dickson also commended the Federal Government forits decision to establish modular refineries in the Niger Delta region.

    Citing the NLNG as one of the plants in the region, Dickson said it was yielding a lot of revenue for the country as one of the most profitable partnerships the Federal Government had gone into.

    “You have other big ones like the Gbarain/Obie gas plant project in Bayelsa owned by Shell, there are other ones.

    “But this one is a fertilizer petrochemical company, And they will do a lot of skills development and skills transfer, a lot of jobs will be created and there will be a boom in the local economy, state economy and ultimately affect the national economy positively.’’

    He said the Bayelsa government would engage the oil companies to ensure that they did their businesses without inhibitions.

  • Naira versus NLNG

    Sometimes it is necessary to remind Nigerians that we are no longer under the jackboot umbrella. And whether our democracy is flawed or not, the system of popular persuasion is much to be preferred to the shadow of the army that rules by diktat.

    That accounts for why the nation rose in uproar when the chief of army staff either goofed or tried to present a lack of judgment as goof when he spoke of some unholy meetings between soldiers and some unknown pollical bigwigs.

    Anything that throws us back to that era ought to be treated with not only suspicion but the impulse of revulsion. Hence there is much to be praised in one of the recent actions of the House of representatives. This concerns the decision to redeem one of the indecencies of the military era, especially the regime of the soldier with exaggerated dark goggles called Sani Abacha. The House of representatives passed the bill that the Nigeria NLG should pay three percent of its mammoth yearly profits to the Niger Delta Development Commission as part of its social duties to a region ravaged by its irony of wealth: oil and gas.

    Other companies in the region have acquiesced, if some do in name but not always in deed. At least they recognise the supremacy of the law of the land. The NLNG was given a tax holiday in this regard, and asked not to pay while dip their gloriously oily hands in their pockets.

    The House of representatives has now decided to put national interest above the cynicism that has characterised our political elite who collude with the oil and gas mavens to oppress their kith and kin.

    If the idea of the tax holiday was to allow the company get rooted, it has had about a generation to do so. It is time to bow to the impulse of the people and put aside three percent to develop the area. They claim they do not pollute the region. They merely process.

    Is that not a cynical argument? They want to eat their cake and have it, or vice versa. Let others produce the gas, and although while we are processing it, it does damage, we can take the profit and not the responsibility. No one in their patriotic senses and in the full working of logic accept that argument. Because I don’t make garri but merely distribute it, I am not in the garri business.

    They believe that they have been working in the society, including giving scholarships. Records show they give more scholarship to vocational youths than the more substantial demands of the region, especially those who want university education.

    The NLNG makes about N500 billion a year. And they are not even being asked to pay a tithe or even half a tithe, but a measly fraction. Yet they yell in pain.

    The NLNG is owned by four shareholders, and Nigeria, represented by the NNPC, owns 49 per cent. The balance belongs to Shell Gas BV, Total LNG Nigeria Ltd, and ENI International Ltd. These firms control 25.6  percent, 15 percent and 10.4 percent respectively.

    The NDDC is owed over a trillion naira in debt, as the Managing director Nsima Ekere has noted. Firms with strong foreign content should not be seen to be adding to the burden.