The government of Cross River State in southern Nigeria has reached an agreement with a Nigerian firm to host the onshore operational support base for a floating liquefied natural gas project.
Cross River is partnering with UTM Offshore Limited, a privately held Nigerian company actively engaged in diverse sectors of national and international market particularly the oil and gas sector, to establish the base.
Voice of Nigeria gathered that the state was chosen to host the multi-billion naira onshore base due to its proximity to the location of the plant for the contractor, Messrs JGC Holdings Corporation of Japan.
Welcoming Investors
In a remark during a visit of a team of investors from UTM led by the Managing Director, Dr. Julius Rone to Calabar, the Cross River State capital, Governor Bassey Otu, expressed excitement with the decision of the firm, noting that constructing the base would create thousands of job opportunities besides driving Foreign Direct Investment.
“I am happy that the company has chosen Cross River State as its logistics base. Cross River is very rich in terms of hydrocarbon with huge gas resources, which we intend to exploit fully, during the life span of my administration.
“Also, providing job opportunities to over 3,000 unemployed in the state is such a huge achievement. If there is anything we are earnestly looking forward to now is to provide employment to our teeming youths and grow the economy. We have set a target for ourselves with machinery in motion to double our Gross Domestic Product 9GDP) with attendant increase in internally generated revenue in the next four years.
“So, you are not going to do only offshore, I believe that by the time our designated blocs are out, you will love to take good advantage by exploring it, he urged.”
Safety Guaranteed
On security of the UTM workers and their Japanese and German partners, the governor promised to provide maximum support and reiterated the resolve of his administration to transform the state to a business destination.
He said, “I am glad that you are the first to key into our business portfolio because the destination for business in this dispensation is definitely going to be Cross River State. We still remain the safest sub-national you can think of in this country and we are building a formidable economy.”
The governor noted that gas flaring was critical as a revenue earner or national development, stating “in my days in parliament, we worried about gas flaring. Apart from losing money, it is poisoning the atmosphere and dangerous to the ecosystem. So, I am happy that your operation is green and we welcome you wholeheartedly.”
Earlier, the Managing Director of UTM Limited, Dr. Rone said that the delegation was in the state for site assessment to set up an onshore operations support base for its contractors, Messrs JGC Holdings Corporation of Japan on the UTM floating LNG project.
Rone, who described the plant, when completed, as the first of its kind in Nigeria, said that the offshore FLNG would be anchored in Akwa Ibom State near the Yoho Platform in OML 104 being operated by Exxon Mobil.
He added that when completed the plant would produce 1.5 million tonnes of LNG annually for export and 300,000 metric tonnes of LPG for domestic market and some condensate.
