Axxela Has Green Light for Ajaokuta Gas Project

Nigerian Axxela – now owned by Helios – has received a licence to build a small-scale LNG terminal in Ajaokuta, from the Department of Petroleum Resources, company officials  said May 20. The project which will begin this second quarter of 2019, is expected to be set to deliver 20mn ft³/day by 2020.

The gas and power portfolio company said the project is a joint venture between its subsidiary, Transit Gas Nigeria and Nigerian Gas Marketing Company (NGMC), a subsidiary of state producer, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

Axxela has also said that every other requirement for project execution has been received. In mid-April 2019, the Gas Aggregation Company of Nigeria gave the gas purchase order for the project and the environment ministry has approved its environmental and social impact assessment.

"The establishment of the LNG facility in the strategically located industrial hub of Ajaokuta, will assure the safe supply of natural gas in a liquefied form via specialised cryogenic trucks across Nigeria," the company said.

"NGMC and Transit Gas have adopted a world-class development approach in collaborating with a global team of experienced engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractors, technology providers, and other professionals to ensure project delivery in accordance with international best practices and safety standards.

"The largest block of beneficiaries are commercial and industrial businesses in the northern part of the country which have been considered stranded so far due to the absence of gas pipeline infrastructure," the statement concluded.

The mini-LNG facility aims at meeting the gas supply requirements for captive power plants, embedded generation, and industrial clusters in the north, as well as stranded customers in the south.

The mini-LNG project will help commercial and industrial businesses across Nigeria adopt the LNG solution for their power and process needs and achieve over 40% in cost savings compared with alternative fuels. Axxela has developed over 260 km of gas pipeline distribution network in Nigeria.