President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has said the Federal Government will support Nigerian firm, UTM Floating Liquefied Natural Gas Limited, and its foreign partners for the timely actualisation of their $5 billion 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 tons of liquefied natural gas for foreign market, and produce 300,000 metric tons 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.
Speaking with State House correspondents after the meeting with the president, leader of the delegation and Group Managing Director (GMD) of UTM FLNG, Julius Rone, revealed that the multi-floating LNGs are being implemented with a $5 billion loan from AFRIEXIM Bank.
This is coming, amid high cost of fuel in the country, which the UTM FLNG, a Nigerian gas company, has concluded plans to crash, by setting up the first Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG) facility in Nigeria and the very first being developed by an indigenous private African company.
The company said the FLNG will among other things, boost production and crash the cost of gas for domestic, auto and industrial use in the country.
The facility which will be the first of its kind in Nigeria also targets to leapfrog the national economy by producing an annual 1.5 million tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for export as well as 300,000 LPG metric tons for domestic market aimed at lowering and stabilising prices of gas, while creating thousands of jobs and investment opportunities in Nigeria.
He said Tinubu has assured that his administration would provide full support for the project because it fits into his programme to revive the economy and provide more jobs.
Rone revealed that the project has the capacity to produce 300,000 tons of LPG per year and would provide 7,000 direct jobs for Nigerians.
He said it was the first time in Nigeria that an indigenous company would be involved in such project that would contribute to decarbonization.
According to him, it would be the first floating LNG project in Nigeria and expected to come on stream in the first quarter of 2026.
Rone, who said that he was at the Presidential Villa to brief the president on the import of the facility, noted that the project will serve as a legacy project under the Tinubu administration in the quest to revitalise the nation’s economy, rejuvenate the productive sector, create jobs and investment opportunities while saving millions of Nigerians from the hazards of environmental pollution.
The UTM boss, who said he had a very fruitful discussion with President Tinubu, applauded the president for his strategic policies, commitment and efforts towards stimulating the economy, a disposition he said further motivated the company in its drive to establish the facility in the country.
He explained that the FLNG facility will be anchored offshore in Akwa Ibom State in about 60m water depth.
