By Ali Elias
LAGOS — Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) has said its Train 7 project is expected to add about 250,000 tonnes of cooking gas annually to domestic supply, as the company intensifies efforts to expand gas availability, promote industrialisation and strengthen local participation in the energy sector.
The company’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Adeleye Falade, disclosed this while speaking at the Franco-Nigerian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) Energy Roundtable, held during the 2026 French Week in Lagos.
Falade said natural gas remained a major opportunity for Nigeria to accelerate industrial development, create employment and attract foreign direct investment, stressing that the country’s energy growth must be accompanied by deliberate measures to reduce its environmental impact.
He argued that decarbonisation should be incorporated into the design and execution of energy projects from the outset rather than treated as an additional consideration after investments had been made.
Falade identified energy transition, gas infrastructure and local content development as three critical areas that would shape Nigeria’s energy future.
On domestic gas supply, the company said it had directed 100 per cent of its butane production to the Nigerian market since 2022, a volume it estimated accounts for approximately 30 per cent of the country’s cooking gas supply.
The company said Train 7, currently under development, would further strengthen its contribution to the domestic market, with an estimated additional 250,000 tonnes of annual output.
The expansion is expected to support the availability of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), commonly known as cooking gas, at a time when Nigeria is seeking to deepen domestic utilisation of its abundant natural gas resources.
Increased local supply could also support efforts to reduce dependence on imported cooking gas and improve access to cleaner household energy, although the extent to which additional production translates into lower retail prices will depend on distribution, transportation, storage and market conditions.
Decarbonisation built into expansion
On the energy transition, Falade highlighted NLNG’s achievement of Level 5 under the Oil and Gas Methane Partnership 2.0 (OGMP 2.0), an international reporting framework for measuring and managing methane emissions in the oil and gas industry.
The company also said methane reduction measures were being integrated into the design of Train 7.
Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, and reducing emissions from oil and gas operations is increasingly regarded as an important component of efforts to limit the industry’s contribution to climate change.
NLNG’s position reflects the growing pressure on gas producers to demonstrate that expansion in production is accompanied by credible emissions monitoring and reduction measures.
For Nigeria, the challenge is to expand the economic benefits of gas while addressing the environmental consequences of its production, processing and transportation.
Falade’s argument that decarbonisation must be built into growth from the beginning points to the importance of incorporating emissions control into project planning, rather than relying solely on remedial measures after facilities become operational.
Train 7 and local content development
The NLNG chief executive also highlighted the project’s contribution to employment generation and the development of Nigerian technical capacity.
According to the company, more than 16,000 Nigerians, predominantly young people, worked on the construction of Train 7.
Thousands of others reportedly received training in specialised trades, including welding, scaffolding and electrical work, while Nigerian companies supplied 95 per cent of the materials used on the project.
The figures, if sustained by long-term opportunities, could represent an important contribution to the development of local skills and industrial capacity in the country’s oil and gas sector.
The involvement of Nigerian companies in supplying project materials also underscores the potential for major energy investments to create business opportunities beyond the immediate construction workforce.
However, the wider value of such participation will depend on how much of the technical knowledge, employment opportunities and industrial capacity developed during construction can be retained and deployed in subsequent projects.
Local content has remained a major policy objective in Nigeria’s petroleum industry, particularly through the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act, which seeks to increase the participation of indigenous businesses and professionals in oil and gas activities.
NLNG’s reported 95 per cent local supply of construction materials and the scale of Nigerian participation in Train 7 provide an indication of the opportunities large-scale gas projects can create for domestic suppliers and skilled workers.
Gas as an industrial development driver
Falade’s remarks come as Nigeria continues to position natural gas as a major instrument for economic diversification and industrial growth.
The Federal Government’s Decade of Gas initiative, launched in 2021, seeks to expand the country’s gas infrastructure, increase domestic utilisation and attract investments across the gas value chain.
Gas is expected to play a significant role in power generation, manufacturing, fertiliser production, petrochemicals and household energy, sectors where reliable and affordable supply could improve productivity and support employment.
For NLNG, the expansion of production capacity and increased domestic supply are central to the wider effort to unlock the economic value of Nigeria’s gas resources.
The company’s message at the FNCCI roundtable was that gas development should not be measured only by export earnings or production volumes, but also by its contribution to domestic energy security, industrialisation, employment and environmental responsibility.
As Train 7 progresses, attention will increasingly focus on its delivery, the actual volume of additional gas products reaching Nigerian consumers and the extent to which the project deepens local industrial participation. Ultimately, the significance of Nigeria’s gas ambitions will be determined not only by the country’s capacity to produce more gas, but by how effectively that resource is converted into reliable energy, competitive industries, jobs and improved living standards.