By Adewale Sanyaolu
The Federal Government has assured of the security and safety of investments in the country’s gas sector.
Minister of State Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, stated this on Wednesday, while hosting top officials of Shanghai Huayi Energy Chemical Company Group of China (HUAYI) and China Road and Bridge Corporation, who are strategic investors in Brass Methanol and Gas Hub Project in Bayelsa State.
Ekpo who spoke against the backdrop of political risks and security often nursed by prospective foreign investors to Nigeria, described the Brass project as one critical project of the President Bola Tinubu-led administration.
According to the minister, Nigeria is open for investments and investors, particularly in the gas sector need entertain no fear.
“The Federal Government is committed to developing Nigeria’s gas reserves through projects such as the Brass Methanol project which presents an opportunity for the diversification of Nigeria’s economy,” Ekpo said.
“It is for this and other reasons that the project has been accorded the significant concessions (or support) that it enjoys from government. Let me therefore assure you of the strong commitment of our government to the security and safety of yours and other investments as we have continually done for similar Chinese investments in Nigeria through the years,” he added.
Ekpo tasked investors and contractors working on the project to double their efforts saying “I want to see this project running for the good of Nigeria and its investors.”
Leader of the Chinese delegation, Mr. Zheng Bi Jun said the visit to the country was to carry out feasibility studies for investments in methanol projects.
On his part, the Managing Director of Brass Fertilizer and Petrochemical Ltd, Mr. Ben Okoye, expressed the optimism of partnering with genuine investors on the project.
Recall that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and its partners had in 2021 took a Final Investment Decision (FID) on the $3.6bn Integrated Gas Processing and Methanol Plant in Odioma, Brass Island, Bayelsa State.
The project is being executed by the Brass Fertiliser and Petrochemical Company Limited (BFPCL), an incorporated entity owned by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), DSV Engineering, and the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB).
The national oil company had pledged that it would do everything within its powers to ensure the prompt completion of the project.
Group Chief Executive Officer(GCEO) NNPC, Mallam Mele Kyari, who spoke during the FID signing ceremony of the project which held Friday at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, noted that the plant would be of immense economic benefits to the country when completed.
The facility is projected to be the largest methanol plant in Africa and the first in Nigeria.
Kyari said the corporation would do everything possible to make the project come to fruition, noting that NNPC was pleased with the current efforts by the federal government to provide value for Nigeria’s gas resources.
Describing the FID as one of the most significant FIDs in recent times, Kyari said the project was in tandem with the earlier declaration of 2020 as the year of gas and 2021-2030 as the decade of gas by the minister of state for petroleum resources.
He remarked that the construction phase of the project would create about 30,000 jobs in addition to the 5,000 permanent jobs which would come in place when the plant becomes operational.