A Nigerian energy corporation, NIGUS International, has entered into a $1 billion agreement with Beijing Zhogmin Xinjunlong New Energy Technology corporation Ltd., a Chinese enterprise, to finance and promote gas flaring solutions in Nigeria.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria, President Bola Tinubu issued a national directive that led to the signing of this agreement on Friday in Abuja.
During the agreement signing, the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of NIGUS, HRH Malik Ado Ibrahim, emphasized that the collaboration with the Chinese company is focused on integrating its cutting-edge technology to convert flared gas for commercial usage.
Among other developments, this new technology is prepared to generate Gas-to-Liquid products such as synthetic diesel to improve the energy mix, Liquefied Natural Gas for export, and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (cooking gas).
He stated that the joint venture is about NIGUS, as a renewable energy company, joining forces with the technology that allows us to bring a clean climate economy to Nigeria and create value from what we are wasting at the moment to generate pricing energy.”
“We seem not to be contributing to the carbon footprint, we flare a lot of our gas, and 90% of what we produce in Nigeria is being flared, not utilizing the gas.”
“We are bringing to play a very modern, state-of-the-art technology by joining forces with China to create wealth and carbon neutrality and then generate lower-price energy.
“The project is to demonstrate the president’s wish to utilize flared gas, this technology will put his wishes into action.
“The GTL will allow us to turn the gas into a liquid, to create LNG, the paradigm shift is that we will be able to imbed the technology where it is needed rather than adding infrastructural cost.”
The CEO of Beijing Zhogmin Xinjunlong New Energy Technology Company Ltd., Yung Ruming, expressed the company’s readiness for the collaboration, stating that their technical staff and tools would be assembled to complete the project.
Ruming thanked the Federal Government for entrusting the enterprise with this chance and emphasized Nigeria and China’s long-standing strong relationship. He emphasized that the project would help the Nigerian people significantly.
In the first half of 2023, the country’s oil and gas industry flared 138.7 million metric standard cubic feet of gas.
This is a 10% increase over the 126.1 million standard cubic feet of gas flared in the first half of 2022.
This resulted in the emission of 7.4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, valued at $485.3 million USD. When converted, this corresponds to a loss of N373 billion at the August 2023 exchange rate.
In comparison, 6.7 million tonnes of CO2 were emitted in the first half of 2022, at a cost of US$441.2 million, resulting in a loss of N338 billion.
