President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday disclosed that the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas, NLNG, has generated $114 billion in revenues in recent years, $9 billion in taxes, $18 billion in dividends to the Federal Government and $15 billion in feed gas purchase.
Disclosing this at the virtual Nigeria International Petroleum Summit, NIPS, 2021 Pre-Summit Conference and official launch of the Decade of Gas, Buhari said these achievements by NLNG which contributes about one percent to the nation’s GDP, were accomplished with 100 percent Nigerian Management and 95 percent Nigerian workforce.
While promising that his administration would fully utilize the enormous gas resources in the country to uplift the economy and drive industrialization, he charged all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies, MDAs, to partner with international and indigenous oil companies, and financial institutions to actualize the dream of fully utilizing the nation’s gas resources.
‘‘The rising global demand for cleaner energy sources has offered Nigeria an opportunity to exploit gas resources for the good of the country. We intend to seize this opportunity,’’ he said in a statement issued by his spokesman, Femi Adesina.
‘‘That is the paradox that this Administration decided to confront when we declared the year 2020 as “The Year of Gas” in Nigeria.
‘‘It was a bold statement to demonstrate the resolve of this Administration that gas development and utilization should be a national priority to stimulate economic growth, further improve Nigeria’s energy mix, drive investments, and provide the much-needed jobs for our citizens in the country.
‘‘Before the declaration of Year 2020 as The Year of Gas, this Administration had shown commitment to the development of Nigeria’s vast gas resources and strengthening of the gas value chain by reviewing and gazetting policies and regulations to enhance operations in the sector as encapsulated in the National Gas Policy of 2017.
‘‘Our major objective for the gas sector is to transform Nigeria into an industrialized nation with gas playing a major role and we demonstrated this through enhanced accelerated gas revolution,’’ he added.
He described the NLNG as the Federal Government’s arrowhead in the reduction of gas flaring in Nigeria.
