The Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) said it would start taking delivery of the six new vessels it ordered in 2013 this year. The company, which has its operational base in Bonny Island, Rivers State, said it made the order for the six new vessels through one of its subsidiaries, Bonny Gas Transport (BGT).

In the same vein, as a a result of the transaction for the procurement of the new vessels, it said about 600 Nigerians had been given opportunities to acquire critical skills in the shipping sector of the economy. These include ship building, design and welding as a well as the potential for building a dockyard in Badagry, Lagos.

Besides the thousands of Nigerians that will be engaged in the pre-construction stage, hundreds of other maritime professionals will be employed upon the completion of the dockyard.

In line with the provisions of the Local Content Act, the products manufactured by some Nigerian firms were used in the manufacturing of the vessels. According to NLNG, by so doing, these Nigerian firms have gotten opportunities to export their products overseas as well as earned over $10 million as FOREIGN EXCHANGE.

These were contained in an annual publication of the company called Facts and Figures on NLNG 2015 which made available to THISDAY. The publication was formally unveiled in Lagos by the Managing Director of NLNG, Mr. Babs Omotowa accompanied by his deputy, Mr. Isa Inuwa and the General Manager, External Relations, Dr. Kudo Eresia Eke.

The company also said it had spent over $21 billion as payment to Joint Ventures (JV) feed gas suppliers from inception till date, adding that 55 to 60 percent of this amount went to the federation account via its shareholding in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

NLNG added that it has utilised gas that would otherwise be flared, thus resulting to a significant contribution to the nation's income while helping to protect the environment.

It further stated that over the years, the company paid dividends of almost $30 billion, out of which 49 per cent went into the federation account through the NNPC.

The company also said it contributed to the wealth and economic wellbeing of the states in which it operates by ensuring it paid all applicable taxes and tariffs. It disclosed that in 2014, its corporate income tax amounted to about N220 billion, thus making it the highest tax payer in the Nigeria and Sub-Sahara Africa."

It added that it converted about 133 (billion standard cubic metres (bcm) or 4.68 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of associated gas to exports as LNG and Natural Gas Liquids, NGLs, thus helping to reduce gas flaring by upstream companies. On foreign direct INVESTMENT (FDI), the NLNG said through its plant construction, it has attracted a considerable amount of investment into the country. The project today has assets ranging from property, plant and equipment, worth over $14billion which is financed mainly by the NLNG's shareholders; with 51 percent stake by international oil companies (IOCs), and 49 percent to the country through the NNPC.

It also noted that since 2008 it has contributed about four percent of the country's annual GDP. Also, with the current rebasing of the gross domestic product (GDP), it now contributes about one percent to the GDP.

On domestic LPG supply, the company said it has optimised the price of cooking gas from over N7000 in 2007 to less than N3, 500 per 12.5kg cylinder.

In addition, it reiterated its commitment to delivering over 250,000 tonnes of LPG into the Nigerian market annually and has signed sales and purchase agreements (SPAs), with 15 off-takers (all Nigerian companies) for the lifting of LPG for the domestic market. Furthermore, on its corporate social responsibility scheme, the company had in May 2014, signed an MoU with six Nigerian universities for the development of engineering education with $12 million, to boost education in the country.

Under the initiative, the company has committed to spend $2 million on each of the participating universities for the construction of modern engineering laboratories and procurement of cutting edge engineering equipment to aid teaching and research. The beneficiary universities are the University of Ibadan, University of Ilorin, University of Port Harcourt, University of Maiduguri, Ahmadu Bello University, and the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.