Ogun State and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) are in talks to revive the long-delayed Olokola Liquefied Natural Gas (OKLNG) project in Ogun Waterside. This development adds a major energy component to the emerging $7 billion maritime and industrial development taking shape along the state's coastline. The OKLNG project is expected to provide a major energy base for industries within the emerging coastal economic corridor and contribute to meeting the energy needs of the wider South-West.
The development comes barely a week after the Ogun State Government signed Memoranda of Understanding with global ports and logistics operator, DP World, for the development of the Gateway Deep Sea Port and the 10,000-hectare Ogun State Blue Marine Special Economic Zone. The DP World agreements, signed in Paris in the presence of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, are expected to attract more than $7 billion in initial investment and create over 50,000 direct jobs. The Gateway Deep Sea Port is planned with a four-kilometre berth and an 18-metre draft.
Receiving officials of NNPC in Abeokuta on Wednesday, Governor Dapo Abiodun said the renewed interest in the LNG project would further strengthen Ogun's emergence as a major industrial and energy hub. "Last Wednesday, we signed an MoU on the Deep Sea Port, and today we have the NNPC team here discussing the activation of the LNG plant," Abiodun said. He described the revival of the project as particularly significant coming immediately after the agreement with DP World.
According to Abiodun, discussions with NNPC focused on land acquisition, incentives and other requirements necessary to facilitate the take-off of the project, with the state government committing to provide the necessary cooperation and guarantees. The governor said the project could generate substantial employment and multiplier effects, citing the NNPC facility in Bonny, Rivers State, where about 14,000 people are employed.
The proposed LNG facility, which had been on the drawing board for more than three decades, could provide a major energy base for industries within the emerging coastal economic corridor and contribute to meeting the energy needs of the wider South-West. The project could also supply gas to industries within the economic zone as well as businesses and communities across Ogun and the wider South-West.
NNPC Group Chief Financial Officer, Mr Adedapo Segun, said the company was undertaking a comprehensive review of the challenges that stalled the project in the past, with the objective of finding lasting solutions and resuscitating it. NNPC Executive Vice President, Gas, Power and New Energy, Mr Lekan Ogunleye, disclosed that the company would require approximately 1,728 hectares for the LNG plants, utilities, storage facilities and associated infrastructure.
The simultaneous movement on the OKLNG project and the DP World-backed port and Blue Marine Special Economic Zone represents the development of complementary infrastructure around the same coastal corridor—linking energy supply with maritime access, industrial production, logistics and export markets. The emerging Ogun Waterside corridor therefore moves beyond the development of an individual port or LNG facility, with the projects collectively aimed at creating an integrated platform for energy, maritime commerce, manufacturing, logistics and international trade.
Key points
- Ogun State and NNPC partner to revive OKLNG project
- Project expected to provide major energy base for industries in emerging coastal economic corridor
- Development part of $7 billion maritime and industrial development in Ogun Waterside
