Shell, Total, Eni, NNPC to Go Ahead With LNG Project

By Obafemi Oredein

IBADAN, Nigeria--The Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. and other shareholders in Nigeria LNG Ltd. on Friday have chosen to move forward with the construction of NLNG's Train 7 project.

The other shareholders endorsing the final investment decision are Shell Gas BV, Total Gaz Electricite Holdings and Eni International, NNPC said. NNPC has 49% stake in the project, while Shell Gas owns 25.6%, Total Gaz holds 15% and ENI 10.4%.

The Train 7 project is expected to increase NLNG's production by 35% to 30 million tons a year and boost the company's competitiveness in the global market, said Tony Attah, NLNG's managing director.

Earlier this month, NLNG signed natural gas supply agreements with Shell, Total Nigeria, Nigeria Agip Co. and indigenous oil and gas firms Oando PLC and the Nigerian Petroleum Development Co. for the Train 7 project.

The project is likely to attract foreign direct investment of more than $10 billion, including the upstream scope of the NLNG value chain, and create about 10,000 jobs during the construction stage, Mr. Attah said. Construction is expected to take four to five years, he said.

The expansion had been stalled for several years under different political administrations in Nigeria. NNPC estimates Nigeria's gas reserves at 187 trillion standard cubic feet.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 27, 2019 14:16 ET (19:16 GMT)

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