Nigeria’s LPG Market Gets $120m Ship Building Contract
The quest to increase local supply of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) has attracted a major boost as Temile Development Company Limited, an indigenous shipping company operating in the Nigerian oil and gas industry, signed a ship building contract with South Korean shipbuilder; Hyundai Heavy Industries Limited to build one firm and one optional LPG carriers.
Both vessels are valued at over $120 million with the first carrier expected to be delivered by the first quarter of 2020.
The contract, which was signed in London recently between Temile Development Company and Hyundai Heavy Industries officials was witnessed by the Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas Company (NLNG), Mr. Tony Attah, Executive Secretary Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) Engr. Simbi Wabote and Deputy Managing Director, Fidelity Bank, Mr. Mohammed Balarabe. Fidelity Bank is main banker to Temile Development Company Nigeria Limited.
Speaking at the ceremony, Chief Executive Officer, NLNG, Mr. Tony Attah, said the transaction was indeed ground breaking, explaining that it supports the quest to develop the domestic LPG market and aid the growth of indigenous companies in the process.
“NLNG’s domestic LPG intervention scheme aligns with our business focus of bringing energy to the world and helping to build a better Nigeria” Attah stated. “We have extensive experience in various sectors of the oil and gas industry in Nigeria, with particular interest in the offshore shipping and logistics.
Our entrance into LPG market is exciting and we are in very safe hands to have ordered a LPG carrier from Hyundai Mipo Dockyard. This will no doubt increase the participation of Nigerian investors in the LPG space” said Chief Executive Officer, Temile Development Company Limited, Mr. Alfred Temile.
Whilst commending Temile Development Company for the trailblazing move, DMD, Fidelity Bank, Mr. Mohammed Balarabe, emphasized the need to increase local participation of indigenous companies in the oil and gas industry and reiterated the bank’s support for indigenous players to grow capacity. “The attendant effect on job creation and economic development is huge and unimaginable if Nigerian companies can participate more in the entire oil and gas value chain” said Balarabe. The Vanguard