The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Indorama Eleme Petrochemicals Limited. The aim is to explore and develop suitable opportunities within the hydrocarbon value chain in Nigeria.
NNPCL Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari said the development would make value out of gas beyond any imagination.
Kyari noted as the national energy company, one of the NNPCL’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 utiisation industries.
According to him, this role is in alignment with Nigeria’s Nigasification strategy which is a consolidation of critical programs embarked upon by the company to utilise natural gas and its associated liquids to be the energy source of choice, spur economic growth, free up crude oil for exports, and ultimately enable job creation.
According to Kyari, NNPCL, with this project, “we are seeing an annual contribution of $3bn to the nation’s GDP and a lifetime contribution of $18bn to government revenue.”
As part of the company’s vision of operating the largest Petrochemical Hub in Africa, Indorama which owns the world’s largest single train Urea Plant located in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, is currently working on expansion plans within the next 6 years, in the gas-based heavy manufacturing industries including fertilizer, methanol, and petrochemicals.
In his remarks, The Managing Director, MD/CEO, Africa Indorama Energy, Manish Mundra, stated that “This is a strategic collaboration to unlock Nigeria’s upstream sector, but more importantly, to partner downstream, in order to share the value chain.”
He said: “Nigeria’s gas reserves should position the country as one of the largest producers of urea in the western hemisphere.”