President Bola Tinubu urges NLNG to turn wasted gas into economic value as the company reports $150bn revenue and plans a 35% capacity boost
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Wednesday, August 26, 2026, urged Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Adeleye Falade and the company’s board to reduce gas flaring and convert more of Nigeria’s gas resources into economic benefits for citizens at the State House in Abuja.
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The Tinubu NLNG gas flaring intervention came as Falade disclosed that NLNG had generated more than $150bn in revenue since its inception, with shareholders, including the Federal Government, receiving about $47bn in dividends. Nigeria holds a 49 per cent stake in the company. (Channels Television)
Tinubu acknowledged NLNG’s contribution to the economy but said greater attention should now be given to domestic utilisation, particularly the conversion of gas that would otherwise be flared into useful energy and industrial resources.
“My major concern is the domestic utilisation, where you must be able to take out the flaring and convert potential environmental liability to what could be strategically and economically beneficial to the consumers in the country,” Tinubu said.
The President also urged NLNG to ensure that its growing international business translated into more visible benefits at home.
“Yes, you are doing great to really want the revenue up and taking advantage of international interests so that Nigeria might be deriving benefits, but help us back home,” he added.
The appeal comes as Nigeria seeks to balance its ambition to expand gas production and exports with longstanding concerns over wasted gas, environmental damage and inadequate domestic energy supply.
Official data from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission showed that Nigeria produced about 2.51 trillion cubic feet of gas in 2024, while approximately 191.8 billion cubic feet, or 7.64 per cent, was flared. (NUPRC)
The scale of the waste has made gas-flare commercialisation an increasingly important part of Nigeria’s energy policy.
The NUPRC’s Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialisation Programme is designed to eliminate routine flaring while creating commercial value from gas that would otherwise be wasted. (NUPRC)
The commission has also said its first-phase flare-commercialisation portfolio is positioned to capture more than 250 million standard cubic feet of gas per day, with potential to unlock about 3GW of power generation and produce approximately 170,000 metric tonnes of LPG annually. (NUPRC)
For Tinubu, however, the issue extends beyond environmental protection.
He said Nigeria’s natural resources would have little value unless they were brought into productive use and linked directly to the economy and the welfare of citizens.
“Whatever asset that we have in the ground is nothing unless it’s brought up to service the economy, the people, and realisation of a good return on investment,” he said.
The President specifically called for greater domestic energy utilisation and pricing mechanisms that would allow ordinary Nigerians to feel the benefits of the country’s gas wealth.
“I think that is the primary focus. But think of the people, the need for domestication of some of these energy requirements and pricing mechanisms so that the ordinary man will feel it,” he said.
Falade, who assumed office as NLNG managing director in April, used the meeting to brief the President on the company’s performance and expansion plans.
He said NLNG had previously operated at roughly 60 per cent capacity because inadequate crude oil production limited gas availability, leaving only four of its six trains operational.
Improved oil production has since allowed the company to operate five trains, with further growth expected.
Falade said the company was keen to complete Train 7, which will increase NLNG’s production capacity by 35 per cent, from 22 million tonnes per annum to 30 million tonnes per annum. NLNG confirms that Train 7 is designed to raise capacity from 22mtpa to 30mtpa. (NLNG)
The project had reached about 90 per cent completion by June, according to the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, with pre-commissioning activities already under way. (ncdmb.gov.ng)
Falade also said NLNG currently holds about five per cent of the global LNG market, positioning the company as a significant player in international gas trade.
The company’s expansion plans come on the back of a substantial financial contribution to Nigeria.
At a media engagement in July, Falade disclosed that NLNG had generated approximately $150bn in cumulative revenue, paid about $47.2bn in dividends to shareholders and remitted more than $10bn in taxes to the Federal Government. (Punch Newspapers)
NLNG has also increased its domestic contribution through cooking gas.
Falade said the company supplied a record 500,000 tonnes of LPG to the Nigerian market in 2025, representing about one-third of domestic demand.
Since 2022, NLNG has directed all of its LPG production to the domestic market rather than exporting it. (Punch Newspapers)
That domestic focus is particularly relevant to Tinubu’s call for Nigerians to feel greater benefits from the country’s natural resources, as LPG remains an important alternative to firewood and other polluting cooking fuels.
NLNG’s role in reducing flaring also provides an important link between the company’s commercial operations and Nigeria’s environmental ambitions.
Falade said in July that when NLNG began operations, Nigeria flared about 65 per cent of its associated gas, while the proportion had fallen below 20 per cent more recently, with NLNG creating a commercial market for gas that might otherwise have been burned. (Punch Newspapers)
The company is therefore positioned at the intersection of two major national priorities: earning foreign exchange through LNG exports and ensuring that more gas is available for domestic consumption, power generation, industry and cleaner cooking.
Beyond Train 7, Falade has indicated that NLNG is exploring longer-term expansion possibilities, including potential Trains 8, 9 and 10. (Punch Newspapers)
The President also praised NLNG’s management for improving capacity and returns, while offering government support for further expansion.
“I enjoy the teamwork and the way the NLNG is going, and you all, as team leaders, are giving value to what was the initial objective of the company,” Tinubu said.
“If any other incentive is needed to stimulate growth and expand your capacity, I will be willing to do that,” he added.
Falade, meanwhile, told Tinubu that the Bonny-Bodo Road and Bridge project, financed by NLNG, had been completed and was awaiting official commissioning.
The meeting also brought together senior figures from the oil and gas industry, including NLNG Deputy Managing Director Olakunle Osobu, TotalEnergies EP Nigeria Managing Director Matthieu Bouyer, Nigeria Agip Exploration Managing Director Maurizio Pinna and NLNG General Manager for External Relations and Sustainable Development Sophia Horsfall.
Minister of Information and National Orientation Mohammed Idris, Presidential Special Adviser on Information and Strategy Bayo Onanuga and Senior Special Assistant to the President on Energy Transition Yasmin Mohammed also attended.
The broader challenge remains significant. Nigeria has enormous gas reserves, yet inadequate infrastructure, limited investment and persistent flaring have prevented the resource from reaching its full economic potential.
The Federal Government has set its sights on ending routine gas flaring by 2030, while the NUPRC continues to develop commercial mechanisms for capturing and monetising gas currently lost through flaring. (NUPRC)
Tinubu’s message to NLNG therefore reflects a larger economic question facing Nigeria: whether the country can move beyond simply exporting raw energy wealth and build a stronger domestic value chain around it.
With Train 7 nearing completion, rising domestic LPG supply and further expansion under consideration, NLNG has an opportunity to play a more powerful role in that transition.
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For the Tinubu administration, the test will be whether those investments and the country’s vast gas resources ultimately translate into cheaper and more reliable energy, greater industrial activity, stronger government revenues and tangible improvements in the lives of Nigerians.
AbdulBasit Saba is a journalist and contributor to Freelanews.com, covering news, business, and public affairs.
