The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) and Sahara Group, an indigenous energy and infrastructure conglomerate have taken delivery of two 23,000 Cubic Meter (CBM) Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) vessels at the Hyundai MIPO Shipyard in Ulsan, South Korea.
With the delivery of the new vessels, MT BARUMK and MT SAPET, NNPC and Sahara Group’s joint venture (JV) investment had increased to over $300 million of the JV’s $1 billion gas infrastructure commitment by 2026.
Before the latest delivery, the fleet previously comprised MT Sahara Gas and MT Africa Gas. The four vessels were built by Hyundai MIPO Dockyard, one of the leading global manufacturers of mid-sized carriers.
It is projected by the JV partners that 10 vessels would be added in 10 years to enhance Africa’s transition to cleaner fuels. MT BARUMK and MT SAPET are WAGL and Sahara Group’s injection into the JV.
WAGL Energy Limited, the JV company between NNPC and Oceanbed – a Sahara Group Company, is championing NNPC’s five-year $1 billion investment plan announced last year to accelerate the decade of gas and energy transition agenda over the period.
According to the NNPC Limited’s Group Managing Director, Mallam Mele Kyari, an order of three additional new vessels was being finalized as part of the JV partners’ drive towards meeting the 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 environmental sustainability is unwavering.”
Kyari said the vessels were very important in driving the Federal Government’s agenda of domestication of gas through the LPG Penetration Framework and LPG Expansion Plan initiatives and increasing the commodity’s supply.
The initiatives are aimed at encouraging the use of gas in households, power generation, auto-gas and industrial applications in order to attain 5 Million Metric tonnes of LPG consumption by 2025.
The NNPC boss clarified: “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.”
