Nigeria may soon be able to save huge foreign exchange through the construction of a dry dock for the maintenance of large ocean going vessels in Badagry Lagos State, as the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited has reached out to the investment community – representatives of banks and other financial institutions, promoting the potential for a new dockyard in the country.
This follows the conclusion of feasibility studies by Royal HaskoningDHV, an independent, international engineering and project management consultancy, headquartered in the Netherlands.
The thinking for the establishment of a dry dock in Nigeria is coming on the back of NLNG’s US$1.6 billion contract with shipbuilders, Samsung Heavy Industries and Hyundai Heavy Industries, for the building of six new vessels.
The volume of the fleet spurred the thinking of the need for maintainance locally.
Observers of Nigeria’s maritime sector have long lamented the absence of an operational dockyard to cater for very large crude carriers (VLCCs) and liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers, as existing dockyards can only handle smaller vessels.
Lack of such a facility has meant that owners of large vessels in Nigeria and the West African region, have had to pay large sums of money to docking facilities located mainly in Asia, Europe and the Americas, which can accommodate such large vessels.
NLNG, leveraging on the agreement with the ship manufacturers, secured a number of lucrative opportunities beneficial to the Nigerian economy, including the training of about 600 young Nigerians in various aspects of ship-building, procurement of goods from Nigerian companies and the feasibility studies for building a dockyard.
Feasibility studies for citing the dry-dock were carried out in seven places—Badagry, Lekki FTZ, Ladol Island, Ogogoro Island, Olokola FTZ, Onne and Bonny, before consultants identified Badagry as the best-in-class location for the dockyard.
Babs Omotowa, NLNG’s managing director and chief executive officer, at the investment forum held at the proposed site for the dockyard in Badagry said: “This dry-dock, when completed, holds huge potential for the investment community. Our LNG vessels and very large crude carriers (VLCC) of other companies in the oil and gas and marine industries, which are currently maintained overseas, resulting in millions of dollars being spent overseas, will soon be maintained in-country with tangible value-adds for the Nigerian economy,”
The dry-dock is also planned to be operated and managed according to international standards, and when operational, will generate revenue and add jobs to the economy.
Captain Temi Okesanjo, Nigeria LNG’s General Manager, Shipping Division, speaking to investors at a forum to discuss the potential of the proposed dockyard, said: “I can confidently tell you that if we have a dockyard here, Nigeria LNG with its current 13 vessels in our fleet will be one of your patrons. When our company receives its six additional vessels from Samsung Heavy Industries and Hyundai Heavy Industries, those vessels will also be maintained here.
“ I have no doubt the other players in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry will also be looking to service and maintain their vessels at this ship yard once it becomes operational,”
NLNG is owned by four shareholders. They are the Federal Government of Nigeria, represented by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC (49%), Shell Gas BV, SGBV, (25.6%), Total LNG Nigeria Limited (15%), and Eni International (N.A,) N. V. S. a. r. l (10.4%).
This follows the conclusion of feasibility studies by Royal HaskoningDHV, an independent, international engineering and project management consultancy, headquartered in the Netherlands.
The thinking for the establishment of a dry dock in Nigeria is coming on the back of NLNG’s US$1.6 billion contract with shipbuilders, Samsung Heavy Industries and Hyundai Heavy Industries, for the building of six new vessels.
The volume of the fleet spurred the thinking of the need for maintainance locally.
Observers of Nigeria’s maritime sector have long lamented the absence of an operational dockyard to cater for very large crude carriers (VLCCs) and liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers, as existing dockyards can only handle smaller vessels.
Lack of such a facility has meant that owners of large vessels in Nigeria and the West African region, have had to pay large sums of money to docking facilities located mainly in Asia, Europe and the Americas, which can accommodate such large vessels.
NLNG, leveraging on the agreement with the ship manufacturers, secured a number of lucrative opportunities beneficial to the Nigerian economy, including the training of about 600 young Nigerians in various aspects of ship-building, procurement of goods from Nigerian companies and the feasibility studies for building a dockyard.
Feasibility studies for citing the dry-dock were carried out in seven places—Badagry, Lekki FTZ, Ladol Island, Ogogoro Island, Olokola FTZ, Onne and Bonny, before consultants identified Badagry as the best-in-class location for the dockyard.
Babs Omotowa, NLNG’s managing director and chief executive officer, at the investment forum held at the proposed site for the dockyard in Badagry said: “This dry-dock, when completed, holds huge potential for the investment community. Our LNG vessels and very large crude carriers (VLCC) of other companies in the oil and gas and marine industries, which are currently maintained overseas, resulting in millions of dollars being spent overseas, will soon be maintained in-country with tangible value-adds for the Nigerian economy,”
The dry-dock is also planned to be operated and managed according to international standards, and when operational, will generate revenue and add jobs to the economy.
Captain Temi Okesanjo, Nigeria LNG’s General Manager, Shipping Division, speaking to investors at a forum to discuss the potential of the proposed dockyard, said: “I can confidently tell you that if we have a dockyard here, Nigeria LNG with its current 13 vessels in our fleet will be one of your patrons. When our company receives its six additional vessels from Samsung Heavy Industries and Hyundai Heavy Industries, those vessels will also be maintained here.
“ I have no doubt the other players in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry will also be looking to service and maintain their vessels at this ship yard once it becomes operational,”
NLNG is owned by four shareholders. They are the Federal Government of Nigeria, represented by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC (49%), Shell Gas BV, SGBV, (25.6%), Total LNG Nigeria Limited (15%), and Eni International (N.A,) N. V. S. a. r. l (10.4%).
