NNPC, Sahara Group invest $300m in gas carriers to drive energy transition

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) and Sahara Group have taken delivery of two 23,000 cubic meters (CBM) Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) vessels at the Hyundai MIPO Shipyard, a manufacturer of mid-sized carriers, in Ulsan, South Korea.

Bethel Obioma, corporate communications head, Sahara Group Ltd, said this in a statement issued on Monday. 

According to the statement, the new vessels, MT BARUMK and MT SAPET, increased NNPC and Sahara Group’s joint venture (JV) investment to over $300million — approaching their $1 billion gas infrastructure commitment by 2026.

The fleet previously comprised MT Sahara Gas and MT Africa Gas.

Speaking at the event marking the LPG vessel delivery, Mele Kyari, NNPC’s group managing director (GMD), said the order of three additional new vessels was being finalised. 

Kyari said the JV had a target of delivering 10 vessels over the next 10 years. 

He said the NNPC and “our partners stand out with integrity in our energy transition quest and our commitment to environmental sustainability is unwavering”.  

The GMD further stressed that the vessels were critical to driving the federal government’s commitment to the domestication of gas in Nigeria through several initiatives and increasing seamless supply in compliance with the mandate of President Muhammad Buhari.

“This is another epoch-making achievement for the NNPC and Sahara Group, and we remain firmly committed to delivering more formidable gas projects for the benefit of Nigeria and the entire sub-region,” Kyari added.

The initiatives — the LPG Penetration Framework and LPG Expansion Plan — are geared toward encouraging the use of gas in households, power generation, auto-gas and industrial applications to attain 5 million metric tonnes of LPG consumption by 2025.

WAGL Energy Limited, the JV company between NNPC and Oceanbed (a Sahara Group Company), is driving NNPC’s five-year $1 billion investment plan to accelerate the decade of gas and energy transition agenda over the period.

Temitope Shonubi, executive director, Sahara Group, said WAGL has successfully operated two mid-sized LPG carriers — MT Africa Gas and MT Sahara Gas — in the region in keeping with global standards, delivering over 6 million CBM of LPG across West Africa. 

“With the new vessels, we are set to promote and lead Africa’s march towards energy transition,” he said

Ali Magashi, Nigeria’s ambassador to South Korea, representing the federal government, said Buhari deserved commendation for the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), which would reposition the NNPC to explore more projects with partners like Sahara Group.

BARUMK was derived from the combination of the name and initials of Maikanti K. Baru, the late NNPC GMD, in memory of his immense support for the gas development in Nigeria. 

SAPET, on the other hand, was named after Sahara Energy and Petroci –the Ivorian national oil company — JV LPG company, SAPET Energy SA.