Yemisi Izuora
The Government has taken fresh measures to tackle supply challenges which often impedes the availability of Liquefied Petroleum Gas, LPG, or cooking gas.
The West Africa Gas Ltd (WAGL), a Joint Venture Company of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, and Sahara Energy will today unveil two LPG vessels in Ulsan, South Korea which promise to be a game changer in the supply network of the subsector.
NNPC Group Managing Director, Dr, Maikanti Baru, who spoke at a Pre-Naming Ceremony Dinner in Ulsan, South Korea, said he was delighted that the venture which was established in 2014 had started to recorded success even within a short span.
Baru said the milestone was a boost to the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) business in Nigeria.
As it is customary, ships are named by the spouses of the sponsors, often referred to as “godmother of the vessels”. In this case, spouses of the GMD and COO Gas & Power will perform the naming ceremony.
WAGL JV which was incorporated in March 2013 will serve as a vehicle for off-take, marketing and trading of Natural Gas liquids (NGLs) across Africa and beyond.
The JV is run by two companies, NNPC LNG Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of NNPC and Sahara Energy’s oil and gas trading arm, Ocean Bed Trading Ltd (BVI).
The Company is expected to take the delivery of two vessels – Halls 8182 and 8183 – from the renowned Korean shipbuilding company, Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Limited today.
On its part, the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas, NLNG’s LPG vessel has successfully discharged 13,000 tonnes of LPG at Lagos jetty over the weekend.
The Vessel is scheduled to return to NLNG’s facility in Bonny to re -load just as the company reiterates commitment to ensure adequate supply and price stability to the market.
Taking other steps to stabilise the LPG market, the Nigeria LNG Limited has also approved an increase in domestic supply from 250,000 metric tonnes to 350,000 metric tonnes annually.