Energy
NCDMB, NLNG sign $12b Train 7 Nigerian Content Plan; expected to create 10,000 jobs


BY: Sandra Ani
An agreement, which is expected to bring about 10,000 jobs by utilising Nigeria’s huge natural gas reserves, has been signed in Abuja.
The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and the Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) signed the Nigerian Content Plan (NCP) for the NLNG Train 7 project.
NCDMB’s Executive Secretary Simbi Kesiye Wabote and the Managing Director of NLNG, Tony Attah, signed the NCP in Abuja at the weekend.
The ceremony was witnessed by senior officials of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Shell, Total and ENI – shareholders of the NLNG.
The Train 7 project is expected to expand NLNG’s production capacity by 35 per cent from 22 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) to 30 mtpa.
At peak construction, the Train 7 project is projected to provide direct, indirect and induced employment for over 10, 000 persons.
Kesiye stressed that Train 7, like other forthcoming major projects in the oil and gas sector, must leave a legacy facility, just like Total’s Egina deepwater, which catalysed the development of an FPSO integration facility in Lagos.
The expected job explosion from Train 7 is banked on the Nigerian Content Plan, which provides for 100 per cent engineering of all non-cryogenic areas in-country.
The total in-country engineering man-hour is set at 55 per cent, which exceeds the minimum level stipulated in the NOGICD Act, in line with the Board’s resolve to push beyond the boundary of limitations.
Wabote said the Train-7 scope will deliver 100 per cent in-country fabrication of the Condensate Stabilisation Unit, pipe-racks, flare system, and non-cryogenic vessels. Site civil works on roads, piling, jetties and will also keep local businesses occupied.
Wabote said: “It will also provide great opportunities for utilisation of local goods and services in addition to enhancing and developing new capacities and capabilities for the local supply chain.
“There will be 100 percent local procurement of all LV cables and HV cables, all non-cryogenic valves, protective coatings, and all sacrifice anodes. 70 per cent of all non-cryogenic pumps and control valves will be assembled in-country.”
Other spin-off opportunities will include logistics, equipment leasing, insurance, hotels, office supplies, aviation and haulage, he added.
Wabote pointed out that the increased number of NLNG Trains would also provide huge business opportunities for local businesses to build capabilities in the maintenance of LNG plants, especially in cryogenics.
The project will also catalyse other upstream gas supply projects required to keep the LNG train busy and make stranded gas fields in the shallow and deep offshore in the area economical.
Attah confirmed that the full value network of the Train 7 project was about $12 billion, including the net cost of the project, estimated in the region of $4 billion to $5 billion and a similar additional spend at its operational base in Bonny, Rivers State.
“It is also about the upstream development, which is the real gas that will come to us. That also is a huge investment of $5 to $6 billion. So, potentially, the full value network is almost $12 billion,” he said.
Attah said the Nigerian Content Plan for Train 7 contained clear and robust Local Content provisions that are significantly higher than the previous NLNG projects.
He said: “NCDMB and NLNG are fully aligned to collaborate during the operationalisation of the plan. This synergy will ensure that value added opportunities for Nigeria are indeed maximised and the Train 7 project is delivered to meet international standards of quality and safety.”
He also stated that NLNG shareholders have been primed to take the Final Investment Decision (FID) for the project before the end of Quarter 4 2019.
The NLNG chief highlighted that the expected increase in the production capacity of LNG “will reinforce the company’s comparative and competitive advantage in the global LNG market while also increasing the country’s revenue and foreign investment profile.
“This is in addition to moving the nation’s economy from being oil-based to becoming a gas-based economy to be reckoned with globally. We are here to enable gas. Nigeria has ridden on the back of oil for more than 50 years. It is now time to fly on the wings of gas.”


Key players and experts in Nigeria’s oil and gas and power sectors have called for concerted measures and actions that will lead to property utilization of the country’s vast gas reserves.
Key players and experts in Nigeria’s oil and gas and power sectors have called for concerted measures and actions that will lead to property utilization of the country’s vast gas reserves.
They expressed the opinion that Nigeria’s gas reserves are critical asset towards achieving the ongoing energy transition that will be affordable and sustainable.
Speaking at the 4th Oriental News conference in Lagos on Thursday July 24,2025 themed’ , “Integrating Nigeria’s Gas Potentials into Strategic Energy Transition Initiatives,” the Manager, Energy Transition NLNG, Temitope Ogedengbe, advised that Nigeria must avoid adopting a “copy-paste” approach to energy transition, insisting that the country must tailor its strategy to reflect local realities, including the urgent need for economic growth, energy security, and national development.
“Our transition must leverage our unique strengths and resources to grow our economy,” Ogedengbe said. “Energy transition should not be a copy-paste exercise.
“Nigeria must design its own, since we need economic development, energy security, and to address developmental issues.”
Ogedengbe, while highlighting challenges around gas utilisation, lamented that despite Nigeria’s abundant natural gas resources, a large portion is still being flared or reinjected due to the absence of viable commercial arrangements.
“We’re not taking nearly the amount we should be. We are still failing and reinjecting because there is no commercial arrangement to optimise this; for many reasons,” he stated.
He noted that while marginal fields hold potential, they are difficult to produce economically.
“The issues there are marginal fields, which are difficult to produce,” he said, adding that the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission’s (NUPRC) Gas Flaring Commercialisation Programme is trying to address this.
According to him, a significant chunk of Nigeria’s gas is still either exported or flared, while domestic utilisation and value addition remain underdeveloped.
“We are not investing enough, and we are not examining the right approaches,” he added.
Speaking on the global LNG market, Ogedengbe noted that although there is still a market for LNG produced by Nigeria, demand patterns are shifting, particularly in Europe, where buyers now favour lower-carbon LNG options.
He said, “There is still a market for LNG produced in Nigeria, but what is happening is that Europe is asking for lower-carbon LNG.
“There’s a need to use operational levers to reduce carbon, attract premium markets, and unlock funding opportunities, including through reduced taxes and levies.”
He further stated the NLNG remains central to Nigeria’s gas future, revealing that the company plans to expand its capacity to 30 million tonnes per annum.
” As part of its energy transition strategy, the company is integrating technologies and processes aimed at reducing emissions and generating carbon credits.
“We’re using offsets to reduce our emissions, both at the national and international levels, to take carbon out of the atmosphere and promote our operations,” he explained.
Ogedengbe emphasized the need for a multi-pronged, well-coordinated approach to decarbonising the country’s gas sector to ensure long-term viability and global competitiveness.
Also, at the same conference, former Power Minister, Prof. Bart Nnaji said that shortage of gas supply and infrastructure deficit has continued to act as disincentive to investment and growth of the power sector.
Nnaji, said in the next two decades power generation in the country will be dominated by gas fired plants.
He attributed Nigeria’s persistent gas shortage to inadequate investment in gas infrastructure and called for more support from both government and the private sector.
Nnaji, who chaired the event, addressed stakeholders from across the oil and gas value chain, including key government officials.
He said the country’s gas sector remains underdeveloped due to insufficient investment in extraction, transmission, and transportation.
“The focus should not rest solely on government-led efforts — the private sector must also play a vital role,” the former minister said.
“What we need is for the government to act as a true enabler, offering the necessary support for infrastructure and gas harvesting. It’s baffling that with over 210 trillion cubic feet of gas, we still face local shortages.
“We’re unable to produce sufficient quantities to support operations across the country. Though operations improved this year, they weren’t previously at full capacity. A seventh train is underway, but we need more gas.”
He said Nigeria’s history of mining and exporting coal before abandoning it reflects a wider pattern of resource neglect.
Nnaji said gas-fired plants are critical to Nigeria’s power generation, emphasising the need for a reliable supply to ensure thermal plants operate effectively.
He noted that Geometric Power Ltd, which he chairs, is among the companies generating electricity through thermal sources.
“For effective supply from thermal plants, an adequate and reliable gas supply is vital. While we have hydro power, gas-fired plants remain dominant and will likely stay that way for the next ten to twenty years,” he said.
Nnaji acknowledged the role of renewable energy in rural electrification but maintained that Nigeria’s baseload power must continue to come from gas or hydro sources.
He noted that hydro power, however, comes with limitations that require regional cooperation.
In her submission, Engr. Chichi Emenike, Acting Managing Director and Gas Asset Manager of Neconde Energy Limited, sounded alarm over the consequences of some policies of Government that has undermined the ongoing energy transition.
According to her, unpaid gas supplies, dollarised operations, and policy inconsistencies are discouraging investment in the sector.
Emenike, said Neconde, for instance, has gas that has been produced and supplied to the electricity generation companies (GenCos) and that has not been paid for almost two years now.”
“This is a serious conundrum, whereas we have sourced funds from somewhere to produce these gas molecules from our facilities. How am I going to pay back?”
Emenike further explained that Nigeria’s upstream gas production is highly dollarised, making it costlier than crude oil development and difficult to sustain without a commercially viable framework.
“Don’t forget that the gas production industry is highly dollarised, including the requisite inputs. There is no part of the operation, including the technology, that is produced locally. The bulk of it has to be imported in US$.
“The O&M, well drilling, and accessories to drill a gas well are all dollarised. So, it costs more than what it costs to drill a crude oil well. The handling of a gas well is highly sophisticated, unlike that of crude oil.”
Speaking on systemic issues within the gas-to-power value chain, Engr. Emenike said, “Over 500 million standard cubic feet (scf) of gas are being transported with the NGIC pipeline.
“If you multiply this figure by one dollar, you will understand the cost. Whereas so much money went into drilling some of these wells, it costs $35,000 plus or minus, and that is outside other assumptions of fees.”
Commenting on the financing and investment environment, Emenike called for a pragmatic national energy plan that begins with achievable goals, rather than lofty ambitions.
“Let us start with what is doable; I mean the low-hanging fruit. Let us stop with big numbers. We should tidy up small fields that are struggling to juggle both CAPEX and OPEX.
“We need to sit down once as a nation to be selfish enough to determine what is needed to take care of Nigeria’s economy alone in the Gulf of Guinea.”
She called for urgent clarity on Nigeria’s position in the energy transition and a realistic approach to funding.
“Where do we sit as Nigerians today on this energy transition plan? Where is the money to run the transition?
“Presently in Nigeria, it is difficult for a gas investor to determine end-to-end where the funds would be coming from. We need a strategy; we need to be serious. Or else, gas investors would rather take what they should have invested in the Nigerian economy to Mozambique or elsewhere.”
Emenike further warned about the economic risks associated with policy instability.
“Gas economics is such that it must be end-to-end. Even before you draw down the first financing, you have tied that investment to a commercial arrangement.
“When you have a business, as much as you think you know, in the case of Nigeria, once you put your leg out in this economy, you will see so many things flood in unexpectedly. Your IRR (rate of return) goes down the drain due to policy flip-flops and multiplicities of levies and fees.”
She insisted that the sector needs regulatory reforms and an end to what she described as rent-seeking behaviour by government agencies.
“We have to deal with the rent-seeking attitude of our regulators to enable investors repatriate their investment financing.
“They should stop flogging investors with all forms of regulations and later charge them with potential incidents of non-conformity, which translates to fines, even for not operating, after they have created the crisis.”
Calling for collaborative efforts, she advocated infrastructure sharing and coordination within the value chain.
“We need to leverage infrastructure to unlock the stranded assets across the country. We need to look at how to put together our war chest to achieve a lot for the industry. We need to set the rules of the game.”
She emphasised the importance of investor confidence and a market-driven approach.
“Every investor wants to see a clear line of sight. Market forces should be allowed to play out. The government should not create a monopolistic environment that stifles investment. They should allow it to have that flexibility.”
“None of these government officials understand how investors raise capital to finance their projects and the terms of it. Government has no business in business. They should stop the rent-seeking attitude and stop looking for short-term benefits. Quick fixes will not work.”
She has therefore challenged the FG to focus inwardly and begin with achievable solutions.
According to her, “There is much more to be gained if we have a very selfish Nigerian plan that focuses on Nigerian interests alone. This can service the entire Gulf of Guinea if we are serious. Let us start with the small gas fields.
She further urged the FG to stop putting benchmarks on gas for power, adding that the market forces should be allowed to dictate the price.
Engr. Emenike charged the Nigerian government to allow flexibility in the market and encourage alliances within the value chain operators.
Energy
NNPC, Dangote Strengthen Strategic Partnership
Bot partners reaffirmed commitment to Healthy Competition Towards National Prosperity, reports SANDRA ANI


As part of ongoing efforts to promote mutually beneficial partnerships and foster healthy competition, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) and Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals (DPRP) have pledged to deepen collaboration aimed at ensuring Nigeria’s energy security and advancing shared prosperity for Nigerians.
This commitment was made during a courtesy visit by the President/Chief Executive of Dangote Group, Mr. Aliko Dangote, and his delegation to the Group CEO of NNPC Ltd., Mr. Bashir Bayo Ojulari, and members of the company’s Senior Management Team at the NNPC Towers, on Thursday.
During the visit, Dangote pledged to collaborate with the new NNPC Management to ensure energy security for Nigeria.
“There is no competition between us, we are not here to compete with NNPC Ltd. NNPC is part and parcel of our business and we are also part of NNPC. This is an era of co-operation between the two organizations.” Dangote added.
While congratulating the GCEO and the Senior Management Team on their “well-deserved appointments,” Dangote acknowledged the enormity of the responsibility ahead, noting that the GCEO is shouldering a monumental task, which he expressed confidence that, with the capable hands at his disposal in NNPC, the task is surmountable.
In his remarks, the GCEO, Mr. Bashir Bayo Ojulari assured Dangote of a mutually beneficial partnership anchored on healthy competition and productive collaboration.
Ojulari highlighted the exceptional caliber of talent he met in NNPC Ltd., describing the workforce as a dedicated, highly skilled and hardworking professionals who are consistently keen on delivering value for Nigeria.
Expressing the company’s readiness to build a legacy of national prosperity through innovation and shared purpose, Ojulari said NNPC will sustain its collaboration with the Dangote Group especially where there is commercial advantage for Nigeria.
Both executives also committed to being the relationship managers for their respective organisations through sustained productive collaboration and healthy competition, thereby envisioning limitless opportunities for both organizations.
Energy
AVEVA is providing data management support for renewable natural gas projects
Reporter: Godwin Ezeh


Key Highlights
● AVEVA’s industrial information infrastructure has been selected by Archaea Energy to provide key data management support
● AVEVA’s industrial software to optimize performance across Archaea’s RNG plants
AVEVA, a global leader in industrial software driving digital transformation and sustainability, has been selected by Archaea Energy, the largest renewable natural gas (RNG) producer in the US, to build a comprehensive operations data management infrastructure.
Using AVEVA’s software, Archaea Energy can collect, enrich and visualize its real-time operations data, enabling performance analysis across its growing network of plants.
Using AVEVA PI Data Infrastructure, a hybrid solution with cloud data services, the plants will be able to share data to highlight operational opportunities and optimize efficiency.
Caspar Herzberg, CEO, AVEVA, stated,
“Through this collaboration and the use of AVEVA PI Data Infrastructure, Archaea’s growing network of plants will have streamlined operations with accurate performance analysis throughout the expansion. AVEVA’s CONNECT software platform leverages industrial intelligence from a central location, making it easier to deploy additional digital solutions in the future.”
“As the largest RNG producer in the United States, we are dedicated to delivering reliable, clean energy,” said Starlee Sykes, chief executive officer of Archaea Energy. “This relationship will allow us to optimize operations and offer detailed performance analysis as we continue to expand across the country.”