•Firm invests $12m in six universities
The Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG), at the weekend, said it has reduced gas flaring from 65 per cent to 20 per cent.
NLNG added that Nigeria is no longer in the league of top five gas flaring countries in the world.
Its Managing Director Babs Omotowa spoke in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, at the inauguration of the NLNG/University of Ilorin Engineering Research Centre.
Omotowa said through the company’s university support programme, NLNG invested $12 million in six universities in the country.
Said he: “One of the reasons why NLNG was established was to reduce gas flaring in the country. When we started, Nigeria was flaring about 65 per cent of its gas. We were the second highest gas flaring nation in the world. Through the construction of the six trains we have in NLNG, we have helped to bring that down to about 20 per cent and today we are no longer the top five gas flaring countries in the world. So we are proud that we have contributed to the environmental improvement in the country and the health implications of that.
“In addition, we provide a significant source of revenue for the nation and are also today supplying a vast majority of the cooking gas used in many homes in Nigeria today.”
He listed the benefiting universities under the support programme as Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), University of Ibadan (UI), University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID) and University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT).
NLNG boss added the one of the company’s “approaches is to develop Nigerian human capital and foster technological advancement in our great country. We recognize that universities are one of the critical fertile grounds from which ideas to fast-track Nigeria’s progress will spring from.
“With this programme Nigeria LNG is partnering with six universities in Nigeria to uplift engineering teaching and research in our tertiary institutions. On its part, Nigeria LNG invested two million Dollars each to build and equip world-class engineering facilities in these schools.”
