The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, Brass Fertilizer and Petrochemical Company Limited and DSV Engineering have signed two key agreements for the construction of a methanol plant and a gas processing plant in Odeama, Brass, Bayelsa State.

The methanol plant will have a capacity of 10,000 tonnes per day while that of the gas plant is 500 million standard cubic feet per day, according to the NCDMB.

It said the Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Mr Simbi Wabote, signed for the board, while the Chief Operating Officer, Gas and Power, NNPC, Mr Usman Yusuf, and the Managing Director of BFPCL, Chief Ben Okoye, signed for their companies at the ceremony held at the board’s liaison office in Abuja on Tuesday.

The NCDMB said the first agreement was the Accession Agreement between BFPCL, DSV Engineering, NNPC and the NCDMB Capacity Development Intervention Company Limited by Guarantee.

“It confirms that NCDMB has subscribed to the terms and conditions contained in the company’s Share Subscription Agreement,” it said.

According to the statement, the second agreement was the Share Subscription Agreement between BFPCL, DSV Engineering and the NCDMB Capacity Development Intervention Company Limited by Guarantee.

It said this agreement confirmed the allotment of 18 per cent of the authorised share capital of the Brass Fertilizer and Petrochemical Company Limited to the NCDMB.

In his remarks, Wabote said the methanol plant would, upon completion, bring Nigeria onto the world map as one of the top 10 producers of methanol.

“The opportunities provided by this project in job creation, gas utilisation, and local availability of methanol for primary and secondary users, are massive and we are excited to serve as a catalyst for the realisation of the project,” he added.

Wabote also said that the project would create 15,000 jobs during the construction stage and additional 5000 jobs during the operations phase.

The NNPC COO said the project would help to correct the current anomaly whereby 100 per cent of the nation’s methanol needs are currently imported.

He said gas was becoming increasingly important to Nigeria’s sustainability and would also play a key role in energy transition.

Yusuf added that the two projects would help Nigeria save foreign exchange and significantly enhance local production.

On his part, Okoye said methanol could be used to produce 67 items used in households every day.

He said the company had acquired 600 hectares of land and aspired to attract other entities to the Brass Free Zone.

He said the project would become the biggest methanol plant in sub-Saharan Africa.