NNPC JV, WAGL take delivery of two LPG carriers
To ensure stability in the supply of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), popularly known as domestic cooking gas, the West African Gas Limited (WAGL), a joint venture company of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and Sahara Energy, has taken delivery of two LPG carriers from the Hyundai Mipo Dockyard (HMD) in Ulsan, South Korea.
The two vessels with a combined capacity of 38,000 cubic meters (cbm) were named “MT Africa Gas” and “MT Sahara Gas” by the wives of the group managing director of NNPC and the chief operating officer, Gas and Power, Hajja Maikanti Baru, and Jamila Saidu Mohammed, respectively, in keeping with maritime custom that spouses of the sponsors of the ships perform those aspects of the ceremony.
Speaking on Tuesday during a brief naming ceremony to inaugurate the vessels, Maikanti Baru, group managing director of NNPC, expressed gratitude to all the partners who helped to actualise the ship acquisition vision of the parent companies and the management of WAGL.
“I am particularly delighted that the venture we started a few years ago has achieved this enviable milestone today as we take delivery of these vessels,” Baru said.
According to Baru, WAGL was established in March 2013 while the shipbuilding contract for the two LPG carriers was entered into in May 2014.
Y. S. Han, Hyundai Mipo Dockyard (HMD) president/CEO, said the naming ceremony was the first at HMD this year, upbeat that it was with its new customer, WAGL.
Han thanked the managements of NNPC, Sahara Energy and WAGL for their cooperation and support throughout the period of construction of the vessels and prayed that the vessels would perform their intended services successfully and bring good fortune to WAGL and their parent companies.
In her address as the godmother of the vessels, Hajja Maikanti lauded HMD for its shipbuilding expertise, which helped in translating the vision into the two magnificent LPG carriers.
She expressed the confidence that the carriers would be a great asset to West African Gas, NNPC and Sahara Energy, saying she looked forward to a day when Nigerians would possess the expertise and build such carriers within the shores of her country.
However, there is renewed hope that the scarcity and hike in prices of LPG experienced by Nigerians in recent times may soon be over as the Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) successfully delivered about 13,000 tons of LPG to Lagos jetty over the weekend in its effort to ensure adequate supply and price stability of the product.
“NLNG’s LPG vessel successfully discharged 13,000 tons of LPG to Lagos jetty over the weekend. Vessel is scheduled to return to NLNG’s facility in Bonny to re load. NLNG continues its efforts to ensure adequate supply and price stability to the market,” Kudo Eresia-Eke, general manager, external relations, said, NLNG in a statement.
It would be recalled that last week, the company refuted recent media reports that LPG price in the domestic market had increased, adding that Nigeria LNG’s domestic LPG price was based on an international price index plus 50 percent of the shipping cost of delivering the product to receiving facilities in Apapa-Lagos.
NLNG had stated that the recent delays to vessel discharges at the receiving facilities in Apapa, Lagos, which are multi-use terminals with berthing priority accorded to vessels discharging other oil products (Petrol, DPK and Diesel), have also led to a temporary supply disruption over the last two to three weeks.
NLNG had assured Nigerians that they were working with stakeholders including offtakers and terminal operators, to eliminate bottlenecks and improve operational efficiencies to ensure product availability and help correct market price distortions.
“We are also engaged with other public and private stakeholders along the domestic market value chain to stimulate price stability and growth”.
NLNG said that recent approval by its Board to increase in the LPG dedicated for supply into the domestic market from 250,000 metric tons to 350,000 metric tons annually is demonstration of commitment to the goals of ensuring LPG supply availability, reliability and affordability which are key for the development and growth of the Domestic LPG market.
“That price is invoiced in naira at the prevailing official interbank exchange rates, contrary to erroneous assertions made in parts of the media”, stated Eresia-Eke in the statement adding that although LPG is produced and consumed locally, the product like crude oil, is an internationally traded commodity with an international price benchmark, open to global demand and supply pressures.
According to Eresia-Eke, NLNG softens the impact of price variations by continuing to subsidise the cost of transporting about 40 percent of total domestic market share, which it supplies from its production facility on Bonny Island.