NCDMB, Brass Fertiliser sign agreements on $3bn methanol plant project

The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Brass Fertiliser and Petrochemical Company Limited (BFPCL), and DSV Engineering, on Tuesday, signed two agreements for the construction of a $3 billion methanol plant project in Bayelsa state.

The agreements were signed at NCDMB’s liaison office in Abuja.

NCDMB, NNPC and DSV Engineering had in January 2021 signed the final investment decision (FID) for construction of the methanol plant and committed $670 million equity investment.

NCDMB had said that aside the equity investment, China Exim Bank; African Development Bank (AfDB); international commercial banks; regional banks and African institutions would be expected to raise 70 percent of the project cost.

The project is a 10,000 tonnes per day methanol plant and a 500 million standard cubic feet per day gas processing plant in Odeama, Bayelsa.

The first agreement signed was the accession agreement between BFPCL, DSV Engineering, NNPC and NCDMB Capacity Development Intervention Company Limited by Guarantee.

In a statement by NCDMB, this confirms that it has subscribed to the terms and conditions contained in the company’s share subscription agreement.

The other agreement signed was the share subscription agreement between BFPCL, DSV Engineering and NCDMB Capacity Development Intervention Company Limited by Guarantee.

According to the statement, this agreement confirms the allotment of 18 percent of the authorised share capital of BFPCL to NCDMB.

Simbi Wabote, executive secretary of NCDMB, said the 10,000 tonnes/day methanol plant provides opportunities to add value in-country and further diversify the utilization of Nigeria’s gas resources.

Wabote said upon the project’s completion, it will bring the country onto the world map as one of the top 10 producers of methanol.

He also said the project would create 15,000 jobs during the construction stage and 5000 jobs during the operations phase.

Usman Yusuf, chief operating officer of gas and power at NNPC, said the project would help to correct the current anomaly whereby 100 percent of Nigeria’s methanol needs are currently imported.

Yusuf said the two methanol projects would help Nigeria save foreign exchange and significantly enhancing local production.

In his remarks, Ben Okoye, managing director of BFPCL, said the project will become the biggest methanol plant in sub-Saharan Africa.

All the project’s partners are expected to complete construction of the methanol project within four years — in 2025.