President Bola Tinubu has urged the management of Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) to maximise the country’s gas reserves by reducing gas flaring and converting the resource into tangible economic benefits for Nigerians.
Tinubu made the call on Wednesday at the State House in Abuja when he received the NLNG Board, led by its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Adeleye Falade.
The President said the company’s priorities should extend beyond increasing revenue from international markets to ensuring greater domestic utilisation of Nigeria’s abundant gas resources.
He specifically called for measures to eliminate gas flaring and turn what could constitute an environmental liability into an economic asset that benefits consumers and the wider economy.
“I am inspired to understand that you are not limiting yourself to the gradual objective of upgrading,” Tinubu said.
“My major concern is the domestic utilisation, where you must be able to take out the flaring and convert potential environmental liability to what could be strategically and economically beneficial to the consumers in the country.”
While acknowledging NLNG’s efforts to increase revenue and capitalise on international demand, the President urged the company to ensure that Nigerians also benefited more directly from the country’s gas resources.
Tinubu commended the company’s management for expanding its operational capacity and delivering returns on investment, assuring the board that his administration would provide incentives where necessary to support further growth.
He said Nigeria’s natural resources could only contribute meaningfully to economic development when they were extracted and deployed to serve the needs of the people.
“Whatever asset that we have in the ground is nothing unless it’s brought up to service the economy, the people, and realisation of a good return on investment,” he said.
The President also stressed the need for greater domestic production and appropriate pricing mechanisms that would make energy more accessible to ordinary Nigerians.
Falade told the President that the NLNG Board was at the State House to brief him on the company’s operations since the current management assumed office in April.
He disclosed that NLNG had generated more than $150 billion since its establishment, with its shareholders, including the Nigerian government, receiving approximately $47 billion in dividends. The Federal Government holds a 49 per cent stake in the company.
According to Falade, NLNG had previously operated at about 60 per cent capacity because of inadequate crude oil production, restricting operations to four of its six available trains.
He said increased crude oil production following recent developments in the sector had enabled the company to raise its operating capacity to five trains, with further improvements expected.
Falade also disclosed that all of NLNG’s liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), commonly known as cooking gas, was currently being supplied to the domestic market.
The NLNG chief executive said the company was looking to inaugurate Train 7, which would increase its production capacity by 35 per cent.
He added that NLNG currently accounted for about five per cent of the global liquefied natural gas market.
Falade said the company’s shareholders had expressed confidence in the stability of Nigeria’s fiscal environment, which he said was helping to attract additional investment into the oil and gas sector.
He also praised security agencies and industry regulators for contributing to improved stability in the sector.
The NLNG chief executive further informed the President that the Bonny-Bodo Road and Bridge project, financed by the company, had been completed and was awaiting official commissioning.
