Falcon Corporation Limited has secured a N19.41 billion facility from the Chapel Hill Denham Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund (NIDF) for the development of a state-of-the-art 15,000 metric ton Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) storage facility and a dedicated jetty situated in Rumuolumeni, Saipem/Aker Base Road, Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

The company in a statement noted that the Project, which has reached an advance stage, is being carried out in two distinct phases, with the initial phase focusing on the construction of a 10,000 metric ton spherical tank (consisting of 2 tanks, each with a capacity of 5,000 metric tons), a dedicated jetty and other associated infrastructure, which is to be followed by the development of an additional 5,000 metric tons of storage at a later date.

According to the Managing Director of the Company, Prof. Joe Ezigbo, “At Falcon, we consider our investments in the Gas industry as a national service first. This is why over the past almost thirty years, we have continued to expand our footprints within the industry, despite the various challenges within the environment. Gas development is our contribution to nation building and we remain unrelenting in this regard.

“We positioned our LPG facility strategically in proximity to major Gas sources and navigable water routes. The Project is set to facilitate and enhance more direct procurement and distribution of LPG, which will dramatically lower conventional delivery and storage costs. Beyond economic gains, we anticipate significant social benefits including job creation, income growth, health improvements, and environmental sustainability as our customers and communities transition to cleaner fuel options on a larger scale.”

The Deputy Managing Director and Co-Founder of Falcon, Mrs. Audrey Joe-Ezigbo, emphasised that, “As a progressive company, deeply committed to the growth and advancement of Nigeria’s domestic Gas industry, we are expanding our investments across the Gas industry value chain, from our traditional role in the downstream sector, to our current midstream investments, and positioning for an intended upstream play.

“We are fully aligned with the nation’s aspirations to leverage gas for industrialization, and our primary energy transition fuel, with a strong focus on its use for power and cooking. LPG’s characteristics, such as portability, high energy value, low emissions, and reduced carbon footprint, make it an ideal choice for cooking and other industrial uses.

“The Project aims to ensure the availability of LPG and deepen its market penetration and adoption within the catchment areas, contributing to the mitigation of ecosystem damage and greenhouse emissions caused by use of other traditional fuels.”

On his part, the Chief Executive Officer of Chapel Hill Denham, Mr. Bolaji Balogun, said, “Chapel Hill Denham is pleased to support the integrated LPG infrastructure in Rivers State as this will not only increase domestic LPG consumption but also help in achieving one of the critical sustainable development goals aimed at reducing carbon emissions, air pollution, and habitat loss resulting from the use of firewood for cooking by more than 30 million households.

“The Project is also in line with the Federal Government of Nigeria’s objective of increasing the adoption of LPG as auto fuel and a replacement of diesel for power generation.”

Multinational oil and gas corporation, ExxonMobil says it plans to increase cash flow by $14 billion/ from 2023 to 2027.

The company stated this in a corporate plan update released on Wednesday, December 6./ This growth will be facilitated by the ongoing efforts to reduce operational costs and enhance the company’s business mix.

ExxonMobil also said that it/ aims to optimise its business mix by expanding production from low-cost assets while increasing the sales of high-value products like performance chemicals, low-emission fuels, and advanced lubricants.

This strategy aligns with their commitment to providing energy globally while simultaneously developing solutions to reduce emissions in challenging sectors of the economy.

The company foresees a significant increase in upstream (oil and gas production) earnings by 2027 compared to 2019. This growth will stem from investments in profitable projects that have a low cost of supply.  Around 90 percent of their planned capital investments in new oil and gas production over the next five years are anticipated to yield returns of more than 10 percent at a Brent price of $35 per barrel.

ExxonMobil also said in its statement that it intends to achieve an additional $6 billion in structural cost reductions by the end of 2027, bringing the total savings to about $15 billion compared to 2019.

They plan to achieve this by streamlining various operational aspects such as maintenance, supply chain, financial reporting, and trading, among others.

In October 2023, the International Energy Agency (IEA) highlighted in its 2023 World Energy Investment report that major oil, gas, and coal companies are projected to boost investments in unabated fossil fuel supply by over 6% in 2023, totalling approximately $950 billion.

In September 2023, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu met with a delegation of ExxonMobil and tried to woo the energy giant to invest in Nigeria’s oil and gas business, stating that the country is now ready for business under his leadership./

Meanwhile, ExxonMobil’s President of Global Upstream Operations, Liam Mallon, conveyed his recognition of President Tinubu’s steadfast dedication to Nigeria’s interests. He assured a notable surge in production, committing to delivering almost 40,000 barrels per day (bpd) as part of an upcoming investment phase in Nigeria.

Addressing President Tinubu, Mallon highlighted the production growth and emphasised their dedicated work on expanding deepwater production.

Expressing gratitude for Tinubu’s leadership, Mallon pledged reciprocal efforts, emphasizing the opportune moment for progress.

The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has tasked operators in the oil and gas industry to innovatively utilize the Human Capital Development Fund setup by the Nigeria oil and gas industry content development act (NOGICD) in developing human capital in the country.

Speaking at the 12th Practical Nigerian Content Forum holding in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, the Executive Secretary of the NCDMB, Engr.Simbi Wabote acknowledged that Nigeria’s human capital index still remains abysmally low.

According to him, “Most of the divestments to the IPPG companies were done by the IOCs and when the IOCs divested, they divested the human capital and this people are aging.”

“Somewhere along the line this people will fade away. The idea behind the fund is thus for companies to devise a strategy to deploy the fund to build capacity. That is why the NCDMB collaborated with the PTDF to develop a facility in Port-Harcourt. We went to to the IPPG to use whatever HCD fund they have to develop the centre.”

“When you want to employ the young ones you say they don’t have expeirence, how will they gain the experience? Using that fund, NCDMB does not touch it but it is for you to build the capacity of Nigeroans to manage the business you have inherited from the IOCs. It is for the indigenous companies to use the funds to feed the industry with human capacity.”

The NCDMB ES also board that the board has also committed to developing the capacity of its workforce.

“As we carry out various intervention across the industry, we also ensure that our staffs are not left behind as we continue to develop the capacity and capability of our staff via training and exposure and assignment to job roles that bring out commensurate talents.” Wabote said.

“On Human Capacity Development, we identified existing technical/vocational or craft centers and carried out intervention programs to strengthen the institutions such as Government Technical College in Abak, Akwa Ibom State, GTC Port Harcourt, GTC Amoli, University of Ibadan, University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State University, University of Lagos, Nigerian Maritime University, and many others.”

“The HCD programs has enabled training and provision of sea-time exposure to marine cadets, underwater divers, boat builders, NDT Level-3 certified engineers.” He explained further.