Ogun State and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) have opened discussions on the revival of the long-delayed Olokola Liquefied Natural Gas (OKLNG) project in Ogun Waterside, adding a major energy component to the emerging $7 billion maritime and industrial development taking shape along the state’s coastline.
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.
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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, while the adjoining economic zone is designed to support manufacturing, processing, logistics and export-oriented industries.
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.
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“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 said 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.
He described the revival of the project as particularly significant coming immediately after the agreement with DP World, noting that the port, marine economy, industrial zone and LNG project could collectively create an integrated ecosystem for energy, manufacturing, maritime trade and logistics.
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“They have come to discuss with us the LNG plant that was originally designed and called OKLNG, which was meant to be situated on our coastline. Now, they have brought the project back to life,” the Governor said.
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.
“They will pay for land in the Economic Zone, and we will be giving them all the cooperation that this project deserves. We will give them all the assistance and guarantees,” he said.
The governor said the project could generate substantial employment and multiplier effects, citing the NNPC facility in Bonny, Rivers State, where he said about 14,000 people are employed.
He added that the Ogun facility could supply gas to industries within the economic zone as well as businesses and communities across Ogun and the wider South-West.
The renewed push for OKLNG adds an important energy dimension to the coastal investment corridor being developed around Ogun Waterside. The Federal Government had, at the Paris signing ceremony, identified the OK LNG project as part of the broader strategic corridor linking maritime infrastructure, industry, energy and trade.
Under the emerging development framework, the Gateway Deep Sea Port would provide maritime access for the movement of raw materials, equipment and finished products; the Blue Marine Special Economic Zone would provide the industrial and logistics platform; while the LNG project could strengthen the energy supply required to support gas-based industries and other businesses.
President Tinubu had described the integration of the port with the economic zone as an industrial ecosystem, while noting that the emerging corridor would connect with the OK LNG project and other strategic infrastructure.
Abiodun said DP World’s global experience in developing ports and integrated economic zones would be important to the realisation of the coastal development, noting that the company operates major port and economic-zone facilities around the world.
He explained that the deep sea port was being developed under a Public-Private Partnership framework, with private investors providing the funding while the Federal Government serves as guarantor.
On the LNG project, 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.
“We are here to engage with the government of Ogun State on the project we are looking to site along the coastline of the state,” Segun said.
Also speaking, 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.
He said the project would also require about 2.5 kilometres of dedicated Atlantic frontage to support marine traffic and safety requirements for up to three LNG jetties.
Ogunleye congratulated the people of Ogun State on the proposed project, saying its successful implementation would have a significant impact on the economic fortunes of the state.
For Ogun, 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 development also adds to the wider infrastructure network planned for the area, including the Ogun section of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, which the Presidency said would provide a critical connection between the port, economic zone, Lagos, the Nigerian hinterland and wider African markets. (State House Abuja)
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.
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