The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and its joint venture partners in the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited on Friday took the Final Investment Decision on the commencement of the $10bn NLNG Train-7 project.

Shareholders of the company took the FID on the Train-7 project in Abuja after about 12 years of delay due to negotiations and other concerns.

The NLNG Limited is an incorporated joint venture owned by the Federal Government, represented by the NNPC (49 per cent); Shell Gas B.V. (25.6 per cent); Total Gaz Electricite Holdings France (15 per cent); and Eni International N.A. N.V. S.àr.l (10.4 per cent).

The Managing Director, NLNG, Tony Attah, said the FID would lead to an increase in the company’s LNG production by 35 per cent, as well as enhance its competitiveness in the global LNG market.

According to him, the decision will give room for the expansion in the capacity of the NLNG’s six-train plant from the extant 22 million tonnes per annum to 30MTPA.

Attah said it would further lead to the award of contracts for the engineering, procurement and construction activities to follow the closure of bank and Export Credit Agency financing, including the finalisation of some key supporting commercial agreements expected in early 2020.

The gas firm noted that the actualisation of the Train-7 project came as the NLNG celebrated 30 years of its incorporation and 20 years of safe operations since exporting its first LNG cargo in 1999.

Attah said, “Train-7 is the crux of a growth agenda which will ensure the company’s position as the fifth major supplier of global LNG is maintained, increasing value to its shareholders, as well as further reducing the gas that would otherwise have been flared.

“Over 12,000 jobs will be created during the peak of construction. Trade and commercial activities within the Niger Delta region will equally receive a boost.

“The project will also support the development of local engineering and fabrication capacity in the country. Other opportunities for local content are procurement, logistics, equipment leasing, insurance, hotels, office supplies, aviation, haulage and many more.”

The company’s boss further stated that the project upon completion would support the Federal Government’s drive to diversify its revenue portfolio and generate more revenue from Nigeria’s verified gas reserves of about 200 trillion cubic feet.

The firm added that the construction period after FID would last approximately five years with first LNG rundown expected in 2024.

The Group Managing Director, NNPC, Mele Kyari, said the Train-7 project would complement the existing six trains and raise Nigeria’s total LNG production capacity considerably.

The NLNG currently has six trains capable of producing 22MTPA of the LNG and 5MTPA of natural gas liquids or liquefied petroleum gas, popularly called cooking gas, as well as condensate from 3.5 billion standard cubic feet per day of natural gas intake.

In March, the Federal Government and shareholders signed the Nigerian Content Plan worth $1bn to facilitate the actualisation of the project.

The Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, Simbi Wabote, had explained that the Train-7 project would generate more revenue to the Federal Government, while also creating about 10,000 direct jobs and 40,000 indirect jobs across the country.