The Ogun government and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) have started plans to revive the long-abandoned Olokola Liquefied Natural Gas (OKLNG) project in Ogun Waterside.

The development came barely a week after President Bola Tinubu’s administration awarded two Ogun deep seaport contracts worth billions of dollars to DP World, a scandal-scarred Dubai shipping company mentioned in paedophile Jeffrey Epstein’s files and linked to his longtime Lebanese ally, Gilbert Chagoury.

Speaking while receiving NNPC officials in Abeokuta on Wednesday, Governor Dapo Abiodun said the project added a major energy component to the emerging maritime and industrial development taking shape along the state’s coastline.

According to Mr Abiodun, the DP World agreements, signed in Paris in the presence of Mr Tinubu, were expected to attract more than $7 billion in initial investment and create over 50,000 direct jobs.

He explained that the renewed interest in the LNG project would further strengthen Ogun’s emergence as a major industrial and energy hub.

“Last Wednesday, we signed an MoU on the Deep Sea Port, and today we have the NNPC team here discussing the activation of the LNG plant,” the governor said.

He noted that the proposed LNG facility, which had been on the drawing board for more than three decades, could provide a major energy base for industries in the emerging coastal economic corridor and help meet the energy needs of the wider South-West.

The governor further described the revival of the project as particularly significant coming immediately after the agreement with DP World, noting that the port, marine economy, industrial zone and LNG project could collectively create an integrated ecosystem for energy, manufacturing, maritime trade and logistics.

“They have come to discuss with us the LNG plant that was originally designed and called OKLNG, which was meant to be situated on our coastline. Now, they have brought the project back to life,” Mr Abiodun added.

The governor said discussions with NNPC focused on land acquisition, incentives, and other requirements needed to kick off the project, with the state government committing to provide the necessary cooperation and guarantees.

“They will pay for land in the Economic Zone, and we will be giving them all the cooperation that this project deserves. We will give them all the assistance and guarantees,” he stated.

Under the emerging development framework, the Gateway Deep Sea Port was expected to provide maritime access for moving raw materials, equipment, and finished products. Additionally, the Blue Marine Special Economic Zone is expected to provide the industrial and logistics platform, with the LNG project strengthening the energy supply required to support gas-based industries and other businesses.

He further noted that the deep sea port was being developed under a public-private partnership framework, with private investors providing the funding while the federal government serves as guarantor.

NNPC Group’s chief financial officer, Adedapo Segun, said the company was undertaking a comprehensive review of the challenges that stalled the LNG project in the past, to find lasting solutions and resuscitate it.

“We are here to engage with the government of Ogun state on the project we are looking to site along the coastline of the state,” Mr Segun stated.