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According to NNPCL, the signing of the agreement was in a
bid to promote the use of natural gas by large-scale gas utilization
industries.
“NNPC Ltd. and Indorama Eleme Petrochemicals Ltd., have
signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to explore and develop suitable
opportunities within the remits of both parties’ interests across the
hydrocarbon value chain in Nigeria,” the oil firm said in a statement signed by
Garba Deen Muhammad, the company’s chief corporate communications officer on
Saturday.
Mr Muhammad said the signing of the agreement is a
development that the NNPCL Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari,
summarized thus: “NNPC Limited is on the threshold of making value out of gas
beyond any imagination.”
Mr Muhammad said as the national energy company, one of the
NNPC Ltd’s roles as enshrined in article 64(i) of the Petroleum Industry Act
(PIA) is to promote the use of natural gas through the development and
operation of large-scale gas utilisation industries.
This role is in alignment with Nigeria’s Nigasification
strategy which is a consolidation of critical programs embarked upon by the
company to utilize natural gas and its associated liquids to be the energy
source of choice, spur economic growth, free up crude oil for exports, and
ultimately enable job creation,” he said.
“We are seeing an annual contribution of $3bn to the
nation’s GDP and a lifetime contribution of $18bn to government revenue,” the
statement quoted Mr Kyari as saying.
It said as part of the company’s vision of operating the
largest Petrochemical Hub in Africa, Indorama which owns the world’s largest
single-train Urea Plant located in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, is currently working
on expansion plans within the next six years, in the gas-based heavy
manufacturing industries including fertilizer, methanol, and petrochemicals.
In his remarks, the Managing Director/CEO of Africa Indorama
Energy, Manish Mundra, noted that “This is a strategic collaboration to unlock
Nigeria’s upstream sector, but more importantly, to partner downstream, in
order to share the value chain.
“Nigeria’s gas reserves should position the country as one
of the largest producers of urea in the western hemisphere,” he said.
The statement noted that the key benefits of the
opportunities include the monetization of over 1.7 TCF of gas and 100 million
barrels of oil reserves, generation of upstream lifecycle revenue of over $18
billion, downstream production of about 4.8 Million Tonnes Per Annum (MTPA) of
products including methanol, urea, and fertilizer to boost national food
security.
“Other benefits include the creation of about 55,000 direct
and indirect employment opportunities, the development of a condensate refinery
to boost petroleum product supply and reduce product importation, annual GDP
contribution of over $3.8bn, and attraction of over $7bn of foreign direct
investment into the country,” it said.
The NNPC Ltd said the MOU with Indorama follows Nigeria’s
President Bola Tinubu’s commitment in India a few weeks ago, to strengthen
business relations between both countries.
Earlier in the month, Mr Tinubu secured commitments
totalling $14 billion from various Indian investors, following his assurance to
create a safe haven for foreign investments.
“We are ready to give you the best returns for investment
possible, there’s nowhere else like our country. Nigeria offers the best
returns for investment today, so invest now,” Mr Tinubu said during the
Nigeria-India Presidential Roundtable and Conference in New Delhi, India.
Among these many new investments, Indorama Petrochemical
Limited pledged a new investment of $8 billion in the expansion of its
fertilizer production and petrochemical facility in Eleme, Rivers State.