President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has said the Federal Government will support Nigerian firm, UTM Floating Liquefied Natural Gas Limited, and it’s foreign partners for the timely actualisation of their gas project.
Speaking on Wednesday at the State House, Abuja, during an audience with the management of the company and its foreign partners, President Tinubu pledged to remove all impediments to the timely completion of the facility.
President Tinubu commended UTM FLNG Limited as well as its technical partners, Technip Energies of France, and its Japanese counterpart, JGC, for the initiative and partnership.
“Yes, we have abundance of gas on the ground. However, the extractive industry needs the injection of your kind of partnership to be able to promote growth.
“It is a must for any government to support. Let me know if there are any bottlenecks, we will break them ,” he said.
The President applauded the conglomerate for the massive investment which, he said, would promote growth and protection of the environment.
Briefing the President earlier, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of UTM Offshore Limited, Mr. Julius Rone, said the project aligns with President Tinubu’s promise to develop Nigerian gas resources as a source of sustainable energy and economic development for the country.
He said when the facility gets upstream by the Fourth Quarter of 2026, it would process 1.5 million metric tonnes of Liquefied Natural Gas for foreign market, and produce 300,000 metric tonnes of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) for domestic use.
Mr. Rone said the company would cater for 25 percent of domestic demand for LPG.
He therefore solicited for President Tinubu’s support to eliminate any encumbrances that may endanger the delivery of the project by the targeted date.
In her remarks, the French Ambassador to Nigeria, Emmanuelle Blatmann, described the project as a milestone, cementing the French presence in Nigeria’s economic space.
The facility, she said, would advance the economic diversification agenda of the Federal Government by tapping into the country’s abundant gas deposit.
When delivered, she said, the gas from Nigeria would be viable as an alternative source of gas for Europe.
Also in the delegation were the Japanese Deputy Ambassador to Nigeria, Ms Hiromi Otuski, Managing Director of JGC, Mr. Naoki Noguchi, and Project Advisor, Mr. Sadeeq Mai Bornu.
Dele Alake
Special Adviser to the President
Special Duties, Communication, and Strategy
July 5, 2023
