The Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) Train 7 project will add 50 percent to Nigeria’s cooking gas capacity when completed, according to Adeleye Falade, chief executive officer of NLNG.
Falade, who spoke in an interview on Thursday where he shared updates on the company’s progress since he came into office in April, said about 16,000 workers are currently engaged on the Train 7 project as the company pushes to bring the facility on stream.
“Today, we are constructing Train 7 and about 16,000 people have been working on that site for years. We are looking forward to when we can bring it online. Bringing it online is not just about the money, but it is about the transformation that comes with it,” he said.
“We would add 50 percent capacity to the cooking gas that Mr President talked about when Train 7 comes on,” Falade added.
The increase comes as Nigeria continues to face pressure to expand domestic LPG supply amid rising demand for cooking gas across the country.
NLNG currently supplies more than 500,000 tonnes of LPG annually to the domestic market, accounting for about 30 percent of Nigeria’s LPG market. The company’s LPG supply has become increasingly important as the country seeks to reduce reliance on imported cooking gas.
The Train 7 project, which began in 2018, is a $5 billion expansion of NLNG’s liquefaction capacity and is expected to increase the company’s ability to process Nigeria’s natural gas from 22 million tons per annum to 30 million per annum.
The project’s Final Investment Decision was taken on December 27, 2019, while the Engineering, Procurement and Construction contract was awarded in May 2020 to the SCD JV Consortium, comprising affiliates of Saipem, Chiyoda and Daewoo.
It reached about 90 percent completion in June, with pre-commissioning activities already underway, per the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board.
The project has faced delays since construction began, but Falade said the company is working to ensure it comes on stream without further delay. It is expected to go online by 2027.
In a note on its website, NLNG said that Train 7 will help harness Africa’s most populous nation’s gas reserves to meet growing global energy demand, while supporting gas development and Nigerian content in the Niger Delta.
The company currently operates six LNG trains at its Bonny Island plant in Rivers State.
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