Firms Obtain Licence To Construct LNG Plant In Kogi
Axxela Limited, a gas and power portfolio company, has announced the issuance of a licence by the Department of Petroleum Resources for the establishment of a Liquefied Natural Gas facility in Ajaokuta, Kogi State.
The LNG project is being developed through a joint venture between Transit Gas Nigeria Limited, a subsidiary of Axxela, and the Nigerian Gas Marketing Company, a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, according to a statement.
It said the Federal Ministry of Environment had also approved the project’s Environmental and Social Impact Assessment.
Axxela described DPR’s issuance of the Licence to Establish and the Federal Ministry of Environment’s ESIA approval as significant project milestones that demonstrated the critical regulatory support for the LNG facility development.
It said, “The project is on a fast-track to completion as it recently received a gas purchase order for its feedgas from the Gas Aggregation Company of Nigeria.
“The NGMC and Transit Gas have adopted a world-class development approach in collaborating with a global team of experienced engineering, procurement and construction contractors, technology providers, and other professionals to ensure project delivery in accordance with international best practices and safety standards.”
The firm said the establishment of the LNG facility in the strategically- located industrial hub of Ajaokuta, would ensure the safe supply of natural gas in liquefied form through specialised cryogenic trucks across Nigeria.
It said, “The largest block of beneficiaries are commercial and industrial businesses in the northern part of the country which have been considered stranded so far due to the absence of gas pipeline infrastructure.
“LNG is an environmentally-friendly fuel for power, process and feedstock needs that provide up to 40 per cent in cost savings compared to alternative liquid fuels such as diesel. Continuous and reliable supply of gas is guaranteed by the installation of storage facilities at customer locations in addition to the buffer storage at the main LNG facility.”
According to the statement, the project is expected be completed and market-ready by 2020, thus boosting productivity of existing industries, attracting new investments into the country, creating jobs for Nigeria’s growing populace and advancing the government’s push for socio-economic resurgence across the country.
“The NGMC and Gaslink, another subsidiary of Axxela, account for over 80 per cent of the domestic gas distribution to industrial and commercial concerns, and have been doing so for the past 20 years.”
