The Managing Director of Nigeria LNG Limited, Mr. Tony Attah has stated that the company has invested N150million to upgrade three jetties in Lagos to boost Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) supply to domestic market.
Speaking when he visited cooking gas terminal facilities in Lagos yesterday, Attah said the money was used for the refurbishment and upgrading of the Petroleum Wharf Apapa (PWA), North Oil Jetty (NOJ) and Bulk Oil Platform (BOP) to increase cooking gas supply to domestic market.
He said the NLNG team decided to visit the facilities to take a look at the infrastructural challenges inhibiting the free flow of the product into the market.
Attah added that the company had committed to supply 350,000 tonnes of cooking gas into the market, but supplied only 262,000 in 2016 because of these challenges.
“NLNG will refurbish some of the jetties and upgrade them so that they can have more capacity to receive and operate optimally and safely. Once supply increases into the market it will reduce the ability of people to play foul. As part of NLNG’s constant advocacy on helping to build a better Nigeria, we are focusing on supply of LPG,’’ he said.
The NLNG boss said the company was committed to the development of Nigeria, adding that part of its vision is to help build a better Nigeria.
“We focused on energy, bringing energy into the country; today most of it is within the domestic. But the future that we see is an industrialised aspect powered by LPG. In 2007, when there was a shortage of LPG in the market, NLNG intervened and we are glad to say that as a result of NLNG’s intervention volume consumed has scaled up to over 250,000 tonnes. And we are looking to scale the volume up more as the company has set aside 350,000 tonnes for the market,’’ he added.
Speaking when the NLNG team visited NIPCO Plc, the Group Managing Director of the company, Mr. Venkataraman Venkatapathy said the company had commenced construction of 5,000 metric tonnes LPG storage tank to boost domestic gas supply to the market.
Venkatapathy said that the tank, which is the largest storage facility in African, will improve access, and facilitate gas evacuation across the nook and crannies of the country by ensuring quick turnaround of NLNG vessel.
He commended NLNG for playing a big role as the biggest producer of LPG for domestic consumption.
“We have excellent relationship with off takers who for obvious reasons (proximity to jetty, enduring LPG business operations, improved loading and weighing facilities to ensure accuracy of product loaded. We thank NLNG for proving LPG receipt facilities in BOP follow by that in PWA, this will help for easy berthing of the vessels. Now NLNG can vessels can pump simultaneously in two different pipelines to PPMC and another to NIPCO,’’ he said.
