Shell Nigeria Gas said on Sunday that it had signed a 20-year agreement with a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation for the domestic distribution of gas to industrial customers and manufacturing plants in Lagos and Ogun states.

The company said in a statement that in the new deal with the Nigerian Gas Marketing Corporation, it would also extend its distribution network to Badagry to serve a new market in the border community.

SNG’s Managing Director, Mr Ed Ubong, said the new partnership would deepen domestic gas utilisation in Nigeria, and enhance further industrialisation in Agbara, Igbesa and Ota areas of Ogun State.

“This agreement will enable local industries to thrive and create employment opportunities for Nigerians. We look forward to continuing to grow domestic gas distribution to industries and manufacturing plants in Ogun State and other parts of Nigeria while unleashing the industrial potential of Badagry,” Ubong said.

He acknowledged the support of the Nigerian Gas Company and the NGMC over the last 20 years in helping SNG to continue to provide gas to industries and manufacturing plants in the country.

The Managing Director of NGMC, Mr Faruk Usman, said he was excited about the agreement, which he said would enable the parties to further unlock the potential of the domestic gas market and contribute to industrialisation in the country.

Usman said, “We continue to work with credible partners to accelerate the marketing and distribution of natural gas to major industrial users in Nigeria in line with the vision of the Federal Government of Nigeria and the steers of the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.”

Speaking on the long-term deal, the Country Chair, Shell Companies in Nigeria, Mr Osagie Okunbor, said the knock-on effects of the gas distribution agreement would bring ‘tremendous benefits to the economy’ in SNG’s states of operation and Nigeria.

“Shell companies in Nigeria will continue to turn Nigeria’s domestic gas opportunities into reality through our strategic intent to develop enough gas to meet our current commitments and future growth plans,” Okunbor added.

According to the statement, SNG and its partners and local stakeholders have agreements to build infrastructure and deliver natural gas to over 150 industrial and commercial customers, mostly in Ogun, Abia, Oyo, Rivers, Bayelsa and Lagos states.

It added that the agreements would drive industrialisation, provide employment for skilled and unskilled local populations in addition to directly improving internally generated revenues in these states