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AfrOil PROJECTS & COMPANIES AfrOil

SPDC in gas deal with Dangote Fertiliser

NIGERIA SHELL Petroleum Development Co. (SPDC), our capacity.”
a joint venture between Shell (UK) and three Okunbor, for his part, called the deal “hugely
other oil companies, has struck a deal on natu- important to this country.” He added: “Dan-
ral gas deliveries to the second phase of Dangote gote produces the bulk of fertiliser [consumed
Fertiliser, a new fertiliser manufacturing facility in Nigeria], and we know how important the
owned by the Dangote Group. (Gas is a crucial subject of agriculture is – and for not just energy
raw material for fertiliser production.) security, but also food security. This is why all of
In a statement released on Wednesday us on the SPDC JV ... [are] really pleased to be
(March 2), SPDC reported that it had finalised able to execute this agreement.”
a gas sale and aggregation agreement (GSAA) Kyari, meanwhile, pointed out that the
with Dangote Fertiliser during the ongoing agreement between SPDC and Dangote Fertil-
Nigeria International Energy Summit (NIES) in iser was also in line with Abuja’s ongoing efforts
Abuja. It said the ceremony marking the signing to encourage consumption of domestically
of the deal had been attended by the Dangote produced gas. “As you may be aware, it is [the]
Group’s President Aliko Dangote, as well as Mele government’s drive to ensure that we become
Kyari, the group managing director of Nigerian self-sufficient in the production of fertiliser
National Petroleum Corp. (NNPC), and SPDC’s in the country and specifically for this year’s
Managing Director Osagie Okunbor, who also zero import of fertilisation in the country,” he
serves as Shell’s country director for Nigeria. remarked.
The GSAA is designed to help Dangote Fer- SPDC’s shareholders are Shell, NNPC, Eni
tiliser ramp up production at the second phase (Italy) and TotalEnergies (France). Shell is look-
of its plant. This facility already accounts for 65% ing to unload its 30% stake in the joint venture,
of Nigeria’s domestic fertiliser production and which operates 19 onshore oil and gas licences in
is the largest granulated urea fertiliser complex southern Nigeria. ™
in Africa. Nevertheless, it is likely to see output
go even higher and achieve greater security with
respect to its supply chain as a result of the deal
with SPDC, which provides for the delivery of
70mn cubic feet (1.98mn cubic metres) per day
of gas.
As of press time, the parties had not said
when they expected gas deliveries to the sec-
ond phase of the plant to begin. SPDC did state,
though, that the deal would allow Dangote Fer-
tiliser to reduce its gas bill by about $1.8bn per
year.
Dangote described the GSAA as a boon for
his company, saying it would bolster Dangote
Fertiliser’s finances, as well as Nigeria’s domestic
fertiliser production capacity. “This additional
gas will help bring in more foreign exchange into
the country, especially with the current energy
crisis,” he commented. “With our fertiliser plant,
Notore, and Indorama, we are second in Africa.
Apart from Egypt, no other African country has Storage facility at Dangote Fertiliser (Photo: Paresa)

QatarEnergy to expand Namibian footprint

NAMIBIA QATARENERGY has taken steps to expand agreement with National Petroleum Corp. of
its involvement in Namibia’s emerging oil and Namibia (NAMCOR). The agreement was final-
gas industry by working more closely with the ised in Doha, at a ceremony attended by Qatar’s
southern Africa country’s national oil company Minister of State for Energy Affairs Saad Sher-
(NOC). ida Al-Kaabi, who also serves as president and
In a press release dated March 2, QatarEn- CEO of QatarEnergy, and Namibia’s Minister of
ergy explained that it had signed a co-operation Mines and Energy Tom Alweendo, it said.

P14 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 10 09•March•2022