By Udeme Akpan

NIGERIA LNG Limited, NLNG, is seeking $7 billion from the global financial markets for the sustainability of its operations and expansion project which will increase its production capacity from 22 Million Tonnes Per Annum, MTPA to 30 MTPA.

This is part of the moves targeted at ensuring that the taking of Final Investment Decision, FID, becomes a reality this year.

In a statement, yesterday, the company said  “NLNG is a private limited liability company owned by the Federal Government of Nigeria, represented by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC (49 per cent), Shell Gas B.V. (25.6 per cent), Total Gaz Electricite Holdings France (15 per cent), and Eni International (10.4 per cent).

‘’At a ceremony in London today to commemorate the repayment of a $5.45 billion shareholder loan for its existing trains, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NLNG, Tony Attah, revealed that funds being sought will cover the company’s expansion programme (construction of Train 7) and investment in the upstream gas sector in Nigeria that will ensure the sustainability of feed gas supply to its existing trains (Trains 1 to 6) and the new Train 7.”

Explaining further, Attah remarked: “Let’s get this very clear,  NLNG is a mid-stream company that has monetised over 5.96 Trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of Associated Gas (AG) which would have otherwise been flared thus helping to build a better Nigeria. However, what we are doing is not just looking to fund the expansion of the plant but also to ensure sustainability of feed gas supply to the plant, for the continued success of NLNG. All of these align with our belief that gas is a catalyst for industrial and economic transformation which will position Nigeria to become a leading  gas producing country.”