BONNY Gas Transport (BGT), a subsidiary of the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Company Limited (NLNG), has placed an order for six new LNG vessels from Samsung and Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) both of South Korea at a cost of $1.6 billion.
The tankers will be delivered over a period of nine months from October 2015 to June 2016.
BGT was established in 1989 to provide shipping capacity for NLNG gas supplies.
It directly owns 13 of 24 vessels, which deliver liquefied natural gas to customers across the world. Eleven other vessels are owned through long-term leases.
NLNG’s acting General Manager in charge of External Relations, Kudo Eresia-Eke, said in a statement yesterday during the signing ceremony that was held in London, “BGT consummated a deal ordering the construction of six new vessels at $1.6 billion, inclusive of financing and development costs, from two Korean shipyards.
“The six vessels – four from Samsung and two from Hyundai – which have a combined capacity of 1,053,000 cubic metres, will increase BGT’s overall shipping capacity by 17 per cent.
“The new ships which will replace BGT’s six oldest vessels were ordered through retained earnings from BGT, additional borrowings from an existing facility and new vessels debt provided by a combination of Korean export credit agencies, international, regional and local commercial banks.”
This particular deal, the company added, entails BGT supporting more development of Nigerian content through utilisation of Nigerian manpower, services and materials in all elements of the value chain in support of NLNG’s commitment to increased local productivity.
“This is in advancement of government’s aspiration to increase the country’s participation in the maintenance and repair of large ocean going vessels,” the statement said.
NLNG is a Nigerian joint venture company whose shareholders are the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation – 49 per cent; Shell Gas B.V. – 25.6 per cent; Total LNG Nigeria Limited – 15 per cent; and Eni International – 10.4 per cent.