News: NLNG's Train 7 to Generate 180, 000 Jobs

The Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (NLNG) has said that its Train 7 project would attract over $12 billion investment into the company when it comes on board.

The company also said the Train would create over 18,000 construction jobs and yield additional $2.5 billion revenue as well as allow it add eight million metric tonnes or 40% to its production capacity.

Managing Director of the company, Babs Omotowa, who disclosed these at the 46th annual conference of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management (CIPM), said the Train 7 is on course having suffered some hitches in recent times.

He explained that the company plans to bring the train on board in order to compete with volume in the global market and use that to offset any reduced prices.

He said his company is currently challenged by Shale Gas competition, new mega LNG plants in Australia and East Africa, uncertainties of policy changes in Nigeria, delayed passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), gas developments for domestic use, sustaining feed gas supply, ageing plants and ships, as well as continued tension between a Nigerian culture and a world-class culture.

He said: "So we are already looking at what we need to do differently from growing our volumes by the addition of a 7th train so we can compete with volume in the global market and use that to offset any reduced prices.

"The reality is that having come to the end of our tax holiday period, about 70% of value generated in NLNG today goes to the government and people of Nigeria. So a Train 7 is a big value to Nigeria and together with shareholders we are continuing to work on this."

He said his company's impacts on the nation's economy have strong influence on key macroeconomic variables with increased contributions to the Gross Domestic Products (GDP).

Omotowa said the company currently supplies over 80 percent of cooking gas (LPG) in Nigeria and recently increased its dedicated volumes by 67 percent.

He assured that the company is prepared to increase by 1000% to get more Nigerians to switch to cooking gas rather than continue to use fire wood and kerosene, alternatives that have environmental and health disadvantages. He said the company has done well in promoting local content in the sector following its recent contract with Samsung and Hyundai in South Korea to build six new ships.

"We used that opportunity to have 600 Nigerians trained in ship building with 200 of them in South Korea.

Source: DailyTrust