Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) has announced that it has generated more than $150 billion in revenue and exported over 6,000 liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes to global markets since the commencement of its operations.
The company disclosed that its activities over the past 37 years have made significant contributions to Nigeria’s economy through revenue generation, tax payments, dividends, and industrial development.
Speaking during his maiden media engagement since assuming office on April 1, 2026, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NLNG, Adeleye Falade, revealed the company’s financial and operational milestones at a briefing held in Lagos.
Falade said NLNG has paid more than $47.2 billion in dividends to shareholders, remitted over $10 billion in taxes to the Federal Government, and currently owns assets valued at approximately $23 billion.
He described NLNG as one of Nigeria’s largest corporate contributors to government revenue and a major player in the global LNG industry.
According to him, the company has successfully delivered more than 6,000 LNG cargoes to customers across Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and other international markets.
Clarifying the company’s operations, Falade explained that NLNG does not produce natural gas directly but purchases gas from upstream producers, processes it by removing impurities, converts it into liquid form, transports it through specialized vessels, and exports it to international buyers.
“We don’t produce the gas. We buy gas, just like power companies buy gas. We process it, liquefy it, transport it and sell it across the world,” he said.
The NLNG chief executive disclosed that the company currently operates six liquefaction trains with a combined production capacity of 22 million tonnes per annum.
He described the Bonny Island facility as the largest industrial complex in Sub-Saharan Africa, adding that the company operates a fleet of 22 dedicated vessels, including 20 LNG carriers, one liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) vessel for domestic supply, and another vessel supporting operations.
Providing details of NLNG’s financial contributions, Falade said the company’s cumulative revenue since inception stood at about $150 billion, while shareholder dividends had reached $47.2 billion.
He explained that the Federal Government remains the largest shareholder in the company with a 49 per cent stake, while Shell, TotalEnergies, and Eni hold the remaining shares.
Falade also highlighted NLNG’s tax contributions, stating that the company became one of Nigeria’s largest taxpayers after the expiration of its pioneer tax status.
“Right from when we became tax compliant, we’ve paid tax in excess of $10bn to the Federal Government,” he said.
He noted that NLNG’s contributions go beyond company income tax, explaining that a significant portion of payments made for gas purchases eventually returns to the Federal Government through its ownership interests in upstream companies.
The company also pays petroleum-related taxes, value-added tax, and other statutory obligations, with Falade stating that NLNG has been recognized as Nigeria’s most tax-compliant corporate organisation for five consecutive years.
On domestic energy supply, Falade disclosed that NLNG supplied a record 500,000 tonnes of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), commonly known as cooking gas, to the Nigerian market last year.
He said the figure represents the highest annual domestic LPG supply since the company began distributing cooking gas locally in 2005 when it supplied about 70,000 tonnes.
According to him, NLNG currently provides about one-third of Nigeria’s cooking gas demand and has increased its domestic supply capacity more than seven times compared to its early years.
Falade revealed that since 2022, the company has dedicated all of its LPG production to the Nigerian market in an effort to improve access to cleaner cooking fuel and reduce dependence on firewood and other biomass sources.
He said the move was aimed at supporting public health, reducing deforestation, lowering indoor air pollution, and contributing to Nigeria’s energy transition goals.
The NLNG boss also emphasized the company’s role in reducing gas flaring in Nigeria.
He explained that when NLNG commenced operations, Nigeria was flaring about 65 per cent of the gas produced alongside crude oil, but the figure has now dropped below 20 per cent.
According to him, NLNG helped reduce gas flaring by creating a commercial market for associated gas that would otherwise have been wasted through burning.
“Half of the gas that we get into our plant is associated gas. This is gas that people used to flare. Because we created a viable business case for that gas, we’ve helped reduce gas flaring significantly,” he stated.
Falade argued that Nigeria’s greatest natural resource is gas rather than oil, noting that the country has about 209 trillion cubic feet of proven gas reserves and an estimated additional 600 trillion cubic feet yet to be fully proven.
He, however, expressed concern that Nigeria has not fully maximized its gas potential compared with other LNG-producing countries.
He noted that Australia, despite having fewer proven gas reserves, has developed LNG export capacity of about 88 million tonnes annually, while Malaysia has also built a significantly larger LNG capacity despite possessing less than half of Nigeria’s proven reserves.
“We are a gas country with some oil, but we’re just scratching the surface of our potential,” Falade said.
He added that the ongoing Train 7 project remains NLNG’s major expansion priority, explaining that its completion would increase the company’s production capacity by 35 per cent, from 22 million tonnes annually to 30 million tonnes.
Falade said the planned expansion would strengthen Nigeria’s position in the global LNG market and unlock greater economic benefits from the country’s vast natural gas resources.
