Nigerian government set to complete Brass LNG project

As it looks for new partners to revive the stalled Brass Liquefied Natural Gas (BLNG) project, the Nigerian government has pledged its commitment to seeing it through.

Chief Timipre Sylva, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, revealed this during a Saturday review of the project site in Twon Brass, Bayelsa State.

Sylva was inspecting the project with the Greenville LNG management, a potential investor in the BLNG.

Sylva said in a statement issued by his Senior Adviser (Media and Communications), Horatius Egua, that the Federal Government was eager to complete the project, which had been stalled for 17 years due to some Final Investment Decision (FID) reasons. Sylva added that the project would be completed because of the numerous economic benefits it would bring to the country.

The Brass LNG project, which has an annual capacity of 8.4 million metric tonnes, began in 2005, with former President Olusegun Obasanjo performing the groundbreaking ceremony on May 14, 2007.

The minister, who was joined on the project assessment by Mr Eddy Broeke, Chairman and Managing Director of Greenville LNG, and Ritu Sahajwalla, said the government would prioritize the project because of its importance.

“You know the orientation of the government in terms of gas,” he continued. We want to use gas as a transition fuel and to diversify our economy at the same time. You know that gas can buy you a lot of things, and I’ve argued that it can actually diversify our economy.”

Sylva, who acknowledged the difficulties in completing the project successfully in the past, stated that the government will do all necessary to entice Greenville LNG to participate in the multibillion-dollar Brass LNG project.

The $20 billion Brass LNG project in Bayelsa State was projected to provide thousands of new employment, boost domestic gas consumption, generate energy, provide a way for the federal government to diversify its revenue, and increase the country’s revenue.