The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation will do all it can to achieve the completion of the $3.6bn Integrated Gas Processing and Methanol Plant in Odioma, Brass Island, Bayelsa State within the earliest possible time.
The corporation made the commitment on Friday through its Group Managing Director, Mallam Mele Kolo Kyari during the signing of the Final Investment Decision which held at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja.
Mallam Kyari stressed that the corporation will do everything possible to make the project come to fruition, describing it as one of the most significant FIDs in recent times.
He remarked that the construction phase of the project would create about 30,000 in addition to the 5,000 permanent jobs which would come in place when the plant becomes operational.
Speaking at the event, the Minister of State Petroleum Resources and Alternate Chairman of the NNPC Board, Chief Timipre Sylva, said the FID marked yet another milestone in the ongoing efforts to monetize and add value to the nation’s abundant natural gas endowments.
He noted that in July 2020, President Muhammadu Buhari approved the development of the Brass Gas Hub with the sole aim of aggregating and monetizing all stranded gas in the Brass area which amounts to over 14 trillion cubic feet.
“Today we are witnessing the signing of the Final Investment Decision of Phase 1 of the Brass Gas Hub by the promoters of this laudable project. The project is expected to have very significant economic impact on the country including but not limited to support for gas based industries, revenue generation, import substitution for the methanol needs of the country that is currently 100 per cent imported, among others’’ the Minister said.
The project is being executed by the Brass Fertilizer and Petrochemical Company Limited (BFPCL), an incorporated entity owned by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), DSV Engineering, and the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB).