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, a development that NNPC Ltd.’s GCEO, Mele Kyari, summarized thus: “NNPC Limited is on the threshold of making value out of gas beyond any imagination.”
As the national energy company, one of 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 utilization 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.
According to NNPC Ltd.’s GCEO, with this project, “we are seeing an annual contribution of $3 billion to the nation’s GDP and a lifetime contribution of $18 billion to government revenue.”
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 6 years in the gas-based heavy manufacturing industries, including fertilizer, methanol, and petrochemicals.
In his remarks, the MD/CEO of Africa Indorama Energy, Manish Mundra, stated 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.” He said that “Nigeria’s gas reserves should position the country as one of the largest producers of urea in the western hemisphere.”
Key benefits of the opportunities include the monetization of over 1.7 TCF of gas and 100 million barrels of oil reserves, the generation of upstream lifecycle revenue of over $18 billion, and the downstream production of about 4.8 million metric tons 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, an annual GDP contribution of over $3.8 billion, and the attraction of over $7 billion of foreign direct investment into the country.
The NNPC Ltd. MOU with Indorama follows Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s commitment in India a few weeks ago to strengthen business relations between both countries.
