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From Uche Usim, Abuja
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and Indorama Eleme Petrochemicals Limited has taken a major step towards boosting revenue generation and ensuring energy security.
The deal has been validated through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for hydrocarbon exploration that will generate $18 billion for the federal government and ultimately help realize energy security for the country.
The deal, according to the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL, Mr Mele Kyari, also seeks to create 55,000 jobs and develop suitable opportunities within the remits of both parties’ interests across the hydrocarbon value chain in Nigeria.
According to him, “NNPC Limited is on the threshold of making value out of gas beyond any imagination.
“As the national energy company, one of NNPC Ltd.’s roles as enshrined in article 64(i) of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) is to promote the use of natural gas through the development and operation of large-scale gas utilisation industries.
“This role is in alignment with Nigeria’s Nigasification strategy which is a consolidation of critical programmes embarked upon by the company to utilise natural gas and its associated liquids to be the energy source of choice, spur economic growth, free up crude oil for exports, and ultimately enable job creation”, he explained.
The NNPC Ltd.’s GCEO, added that with the project, “we are seeing an annual contribution of $3bn to the nation’s GDP and a lifetime contribution of $18bn to government revenue.”
As part of the company’s vision of operating the largest Petrochemical Hub in Africa, Indorama which owns the world’s largest single-train Urea Plant located in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, is currently working on expansion plans within the next six years, in the gas-based heavy manufacturing industries including fertilizer, methanol, and petrochemicals.
In his remarks, the Managing Director, Africa Indorama Energy, Manish Mundra, described the alliance as a strategic collaboration to unlock Nigeria’s upstream sector, but more importantly, “to partner downstream, in order to share the value chain”.
He said that “Nigeria’s gas reserves should position the country as one of the largest producers of urea in the western hemisphere.
Key benefits of the opportunities include the monetization of over 1.7 TCF of gas and 100 million barrels of oil reserves, generation of upstream lifecycle revenue of over $18bn, downstream production of about 4.8 Million Tonnes Per Annum (MTPA) of products including methanol, urea, and fertilizer to boost national food security.
Other benefits include the creation of about 55,000 direct and indirect employment opportunities, the development of a condensate refinery to boost petroleum product supply and reduce product importation, annual GDP contribution of over $3.8 billion, and attraction of over $7 billion of foreign direct investment into the country.
