Nigeria: NNPC and Indorama sign agreement to deepen gas strategy

Following President Bola Tinubu's visit to India last week, the country's oil company, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, signed a memorandum of understanding with Indorama Eleme Petrochemicals Limited on gas supply, with the aim of promoting the use of natural gas by major gas-using industries.

The agreement, if implemented, will enable both parties to explore and develop appropriate opportunities in line with their interests along Nigeria's hydrocarbon value chain.

According to NNPC Group CEO (GCEO), Mr. Mele Kyari, "NNPC Limited is on the verge of valuing gas beyond imagination".

As the national energy company, one of NNPC'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 utilization industries.

This role is in line with Nigeria's nigazification strategy, which consists in consolidating the critical programs launched by the company to use natural gas and its associated liquids as the energy source of choice, stimulate economic growth, free up crude oil for exports and ultimately create jobs.

According to NNPC GCEO, with this project "we see an annual contribution of $3 billion to the country's GDP and a lifetime contribution of $18 billion to government revenues".

As part of the company's vision to operate Africa's largest petrochemical cluster, Indorama, which owns the world's largest single-train urea plant located in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, is currently working on plans to expand over the next six years in the gas sector. heavy manufacturing, including fertilizers, methanol and petrochemicals.

In his remarks, Africa Indorama Energy Managing Director/CEO Mr. Manish Mundra said, "This is a strategic collaboration to unlock Nigeria's upstream sector, but more importantly, to establish downstream partnerships to share the value chain." He said, "Nigeria's gas reserves are expected to position the country as one of the largest urea producers in the Western Hemisphere."

Key benefits of these opportunities include the monetization of over 1.7 TCF of gas reserves and 100 million barrels of oil, the generation of over $18 billion in upstream lifecycle revenues, the downstream production of around 4.8 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of products, including methanol, urea and fertilizers to enhance national food security.

Other benefits include the creation of around 55,000 direct and indirect employment opportunities, the development of a condensate refinery to boost the supply of petroleum products and reduce product imports, an annual contribution to GDP of over $3.8 billion, and the attraction of over $7 billion in foreign direct investment. into the country.

In the same vein, President Tinubu has made changes in senior management, appointing three new executives to steer the company's ship.

They are Mr. Oritsemeyiwa A. Eyesan as Executive Vice President for Upstream; Mr. Olalekan Ogunleye as Executive Vice President for Gas, Power and New Energies; and Mr. Adedapo A. Segun as Executive Vice President for Downstream.

According to a statement signed by Mr. Garba Deen Muhammad, NNPC's Director of Corporate Communications, this is "in line with NNPC Ltd.'s commitment and desire to enhance our skills and capabilities through large-scale leadership exhibitions.