NLNG exports 6,000 LNG cargoes, earns $150bn revenue

Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) has generated more than $150 billion in revenue and exported over 6,000 liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes worldwide since it began operations, underscoring its growing contribution to Nigeria’s economy as the country seeks to maximise its vast natural gas resources.

The company also disclosed that it has paid more than $47.2 billion in dividends to shareholders, remitted over $10 billion in taxes to the Federal Government and built an asset base valued at about $23 billion, making it one of Nigeria’s largest corporate contributors to government revenue.

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NLNG, Adeleye Falade, disclosed the figures on Tuesday during his maiden media engagement since assuming office on April 1, 2026.

The briefing, held in Lagos, also highlighted the company’s expansion plans, including the completion of Train 7 and preliminary discussions on the development of Trains 8, 9 and 10 to strengthen Nigeria’s position in the global LNG market.

NLNG records 37 years of growth

Reviewing the company’s performance over the past 37 years, Mr Falade said NLNG has grown into one of the world’s leading LNG exporters, safely delivering more than 6,000 cargoes to customers across Europe, Asia, the Middle East and other international markets.

He clarified that NLNG does not produce natural gas but purchases it from upstream producers before processing, liquefying, transporting and marketing it globally.

“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.

Mr Falade disclosed that NLNG currently operates six liquefaction trains with a production capacity of 22 million tonnes per annum, describing its Bonny Island facility as the largest industrial complex in Sub-Saharan Africa.

He added that the company operates a fleet of 22 vessels, comprising 20 LNG carriers, one liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) vessel serving the domestic market and another dedicated operational support vessel.

Revenue, dividends and taxes

Providing a breakdown of the company’s financial performance, Mr Falade said NLNG has generated approximately $150 billion in cumulative revenue since operations commenced.

He said the company has paid $47.2 billion in dividends to shareholders while its assets are valued at about $23 billion.

“Our assets are currently valued at about $23bn. Right from where we started, we generated about $150bn in revenue. We managed to pay almost $50bn as dividends to our shareholders,” he said.

According to him, the Federal Government remains NLNG’s largest shareholder with a 49 per cent equity stake, while Shell, TotalEnergies and Eni hold the remaining shares.

Mr Falade added that since the expiration of its pioneer tax status, NLNG has become one of Nigeria’s biggest taxpayers.

“Right from when we became tax compliant, we’ve paid tax in excess of $10bn to the Federal Government,” he stated.

He explained that the company also contributes through petroleum-related taxes, Value Added Tax, Pay-As-You-Earn deductions and other statutory levies, noting that NLNG has been recognised as Nigeria’s most tax-compliant corporate organisation for five consecutive years.

Domestic cooking gas supply

On domestic gas utilisation, Mr Falade said NLNG supplied a record 500,000 tonnes of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), commonly known as cooking gas, to the Nigerian market last year.

He noted that the figure represents the highest annual domestic LPG supply since the company began local distribution in 2005 with about 70,000 tonnes.

“Last year was the highest volume we’ve ever supplied in a single year when we supplied 500,000 tonnes of LPG. Today, that’s about 33 per cent of what the country demands,” he said.

Mr Falade revealed that since 2022, NLNG has dedicated 100 per cent of its cooking gas production to the Nigerian market, ending exports to improve access to cleaner cooking fuel.

He explained that the decision followed reports highlighting the health risks faced by Nigerians, particularly women, from cooking with firewood and other biomass.

According to him, increased LPG availability is helping to reduce deforestation, indoor air pollution and carbon emissions while supporting Nigeria’s energy transition.

Gas flaring declines

Mr Falade also highlighted NLNG’s contribution to reducing gas flaring in Nigeria.

He said gas flaring has dropped from about 65 per cent when NLNG was established to below 20 per cent, largely because the company created a commercial market for associated gas that would otherwise have been flared.

“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.

Expansion plans

Mr Falade stressed that Nigeria possesses about 209 trillion cubic feet of proven natural gas reserves, with an estimated additional 600 trillion cubic feet yet to be proven.

Despite these resources, he said Nigeria still trails other LNG-producing countries such as Australia and Malaysia in export capacity.

“We are a gas country with some oil, but we’re just scratching the surface of our potential,” he said.

He disclosed that the ongoing Train 7 project remains NLNG’s immediate growth priority and will increase production capacity by 35 per cent, from 22 million tonnes to 30 million tonnes annually.

The project will also increase LPG production by 50 per cent, adding about 250,000 tonnes of cooking gas to the domestic market every year.

According to Mr Falade, the project currently employs about 16,000 workers daily.

He further revealed that NLNG has commenced preliminary discussions on developing Trains 8, 9 and 10 as part of its long-term strategy to sustain Nigeria’s competitiveness in the global LNG industry.

Speaking at the event, the General Manager, External Relations and Sustainable Development, Mrs Sophia Horsfall, said the media engagement was organised to provide journalists with timely, accurate and contextual information about NLNG’s operations.

Mrs Horsfall noted that beyond presenting statistics, the engagement was designed to deepen public understanding of the company’s contribution to Nigeria’s economy and the strategic role of natural gas in the country’s sustainable development.