The Federal Government declared on Monday that the Gas Supply and Purchase Agreement to support the Final Investment Decision for the $3.8 billion Brass methanol project will be executed in May 2024.
A significant industrial project called the Brass Methanol Project is being constructed in Bayelsa State to use natural gas resources to produce methanol, a crucial industrial chemical.
At the moment, all of Nigeria’s methanol is imported.The facility, which is situated in Brass Island, Bayelsa, is still under construction but should be operational this year.
When finished, it will have a daily capacity of 10,000 tonnes of methanol.By reducing reliance on imports, the $3.8 billion project is expected to boost Nigeria’s economy and generate up to 15,000 jobs during construction.DSV Engineering Limited, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, and the Nigerian Content Development & Monitoring Board are partners in this project.
Following a meeting with important project stakeholders in his office on Wednesday, the Minister of State Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, announced the date of execution for the gas supply agreement in Abuja.According to a statement released by Ekpo’s media assistant, Louis Ibah, the purpose of the meeting was to ensure that the NNPC/Shell/TotalEnergies/NAOC Joint Venture was providing enough gas supply for the Brass methanol project.
According to him, the meeting’s other objectives included deciding how to finish and carry out the GSPA and develop the project’s phase-2 gas supply.The meeting was attended by Mr. Olanrewaju Igandan, Head of Joint Venture, Investment Management, NNPC Upstream Investment Management Services, and Mr. Richard Orianzi, Deputy Managing Director, Nigerian Agip Oil Company.
Among the others are Mr. Ben Okoye, Managing Director of Brass Fertilizer and Petrochemical Ltd., and Mr. Osagie Okunbor, Managing Director of Shell Petroleum Development Company Nigeria.
President Bola Tinubu is very interested in finding a solution to the problems surrounding the gas supply for the Brass methanol project, Ekpo told the assembly.
The Minister stated that the President had a strong desire for the project to begin as soon as possible in order to attract the much-needed foreign direct investment and the ensuing economic benefits for the nation.
“The President has a strong commitment to the Brass methanol project and desires a favorable outcome by the end of May of this year,” Ekpo stated.
Sponsored by Brass Fertiliser & Petrochemical Company Limited, the Brass methanol project consists of a gas processing plant, a methanol production and refining plant, and facilities for exporting products, among other things.Upon concluding the meeting, Ekpo declared that he had effectively addressed the GSPA problem and that it would be implemented by May of this year.
The gas minister declared, “The NNPC/SPDC JV partners are now fully committed to uninterrupted gas supply for the development of the Brass methanol project.”