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AfrElec FUELS AfrElec

NLNG sees LPG output rising to

350,000 tonnes this year

NIGERIA NIGERIA LNG (NLNG), the four-member promoting LPG in line with a wider campaign
consortium that operates a natural gas liquefac- to expand Nigeria’s gas industry, he added. The
tion plant on Bonny Island, is aiming to produce West African country has 200 trillion cubic feet
some 350,000 tonnes of LPG in 2020, up from (5.7 trillion cubic metres) of natural and asso-
275,000 tonnes last year. ciated gas in proven reserves, and its fields may
According to Adeleye Falade, NLNG’s gen- hold another 600 tcf (16.99 tcm), he said. If Nige-
eral manager for production, LPG output has ria can commercialise these resources, it will be
risen steadily since the consortium first began able to generate more electricity for delivery to
commercial operations in 1999. Initial produc- domestic business and residential consumers,
tion levels amounted to just 75,000 tonnes per he stated. This will help reduce pollution whilst
year, but NLNG is now in a position to turn out also speeding up the pace of industrialisation, he
much larger amounts of LPG, he said at a recent commented.
webinar organised by ADIPEC Energy Dialogue. NLNG was formed more than 20 years ago
Falade attributed the rise in production to and has been producing LNG since 1999. Equity
the success of efforts to promote domestic con- in the consortium is split between NNPC (49%),
sumption of LPG as a safe and environmentally Royal Dutch Shell (UK/Netherlands, 25.6%),
friendly fuel. “When we first started pushing liq- Total (France, 15%) and Eni (Italy, 10.4%).
uid petroleum gas (LPG), which is cooking gas, The group has already built six production
into the Nigerian market, we were only doing trains with a combined capacity of 22.5mn
75,000 tonnes per annum. Today, as at last year, tonnes per year (tpy) at its gas liquefaction plant.
we did 275,000 tonnes that we pushed into the Earlier this year, it took a final investment deci-
market,” he said. “This year our target is 350,000 sion (FID) on the construction of another pro-
tonnes, and we are very much on our way to duction train that will push total output up to
achieving it. The more we push cooking gas, the 30mn tpy. The new unit, which will be known
more we fight deforestation and deal with emis- as Train 7, will add 4.2mn tpy of new capacity,
sions, especially harmful ones.” while the debottlenecking of existing trains will
NLNG is joining the government in contribute another 3.4mn tpy.™

NEWS IN BRIEF

GRID supplied by the new power line is still under NXT Grid receives funding
construction. It is the third station of its kind
Senegal to connect drinking built in the locality of Keur Momar Sarr, from Nigerian impact
hence its name “KMS”.3 “The construction
water plant to grid work on the plant is 90% complete. The plant investor All On for mini-grid
is expected to be commissioned in 2021”, says
Senegal’s national water company (Sones) Charles Fall. innovation
wants to connect the future drinking water The Senegalese government has obtained
plant of Keur Momar Sarr (KMS) to the loans of 424 million euros (nearly 279 billion ARE Member NXT Grid, a Dutch solar mini-
electricity network from Sakal, in the Louga CFA francs) from several financial institutions grid rental company with a focus on Sub-
region in north-west Senegal. To do this, the for the construction of the new drinking water Saharan Africa, has secured an investment
public company has ordered a 30 km high- plant at Keur Momar Sarr. Once operational, from All On, a Nigerian impact investing firm
voltage line since 2019. it will provide 100,000 m3 of water per day, seeded by Shell.
According to Charles Fall, the managing expandable to 200,000 m3 of water per day. “We are extremely excited about
director of Sones, the line will be available The new plant will serve 1 million people in partnering with All On. Their knowledge
between October and November 2020. the regions of Louga, Thiès and the capital of the Nigerian market and their deep
According to this manager, the Keur Momar Dakar. Still within the framework of this involvement in the mini-grids sector is a
Sarr high voltage line will be equipped with drinking water project, the government plans perfect match for the NXT Grid platform.
an automated control system that will allow to make 85,000 social connections. The All On investment is a strong statement
the reporting of all information both at the of value recognition by the most prominent
level of the Senegalese National Electricity mini-grids investor in Nigeria. Thanks to the
Company (Senelec) and at the Keur Momar investment, we will be able to further grow
Sarr plant. MINI- GRIDS our capacity for renting mini-grid assets to
The drinking water plant that will be local developers, and accelerate the growth of

Week 40 08•October•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P11