The Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, yesterday said the Federal Government remains committed to supporting the commencement of the Train-7 initiative of the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) plant.
Adeosun who gave the assurance during a visit to the NLNG plant in Finima, Bonny Local Government Area of Rivers State, noted that the most critical need from the government as a shareholder was the support for the investment to commence.
“That has been very critical and we have been ready for that approval. And now with the support for commencement, it signals that government has been committed to Train-7.
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“It’s very important to note that the government has done many things that signal its commitment to sustaining this investment in the NLNG and being part of its success story,” she said.
The minister said she was in Bonny to inspect the NLNG facility that had been generating huge revenue in taxes and dividends to the government, describing it as impressive and a modern hi-tech plant: “We saw the old Trains 1 to 6, and the space for the incoming Train-7 which has the potential for creating 10,000 jobs in the next nine months. The jobs to be created will be sustainable for the next five to six years and this is extremely exciting because the multiplier effects will be huge..”
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She also described the trip to the plant as very revealing, adding that more people would build houses while land values would appreciate more with the takeoff of train 7.
The Minister pointed out that the Federal Government had made fiscal changes to enhance the competitive position of the NLNG by removing the disparity in VAT in tax treatment between imported and local Liquefied Petroleum Gas.
“That will give an additional market share to NLNG-produced LPG, and of course it is a major objective that the management has campaigned for and the Federal Executive Council has approved it.
“So, we expect greater market share to the NLNG; of course, that has knock-on effects, it stops people from using firewood to cook, it stops deforestation. It has a lot of environmental benefits as well as more revenue to the NLNG,” she said.
For his part, Tony Attah, the managing director and chief executive officer of NLNG, commended the minister for visiting the plant. Mr Attah said that the NLNG model was working effectively as the organisation had been positioned as a global brand.
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Also speaking at the occasion, Tayo Oginni, General Manager, Production, stated that the delay in investing in Train-7 would drop Nigeria to Number 10 from Number four in gas production by 2025.
Mr Oginni, however, said that Train-7 would increase NLNG’s production capacity by 35 percent and take the country to number three position in the world.
He also stated that the global energy landscape was changing and Nigeria must lead the transition or lose if nothing was done