$5bn NLNG Train 7 Hits 92% Completion, Nears Pre-Commissioning

Over 13,000 Nigerians Worked on the Project at Peak Construction

The $5 billion Nigeria LNG Train 7 project on Bonny Island has reached 92% completion and is moving into systems completion and pre-commissioning, in what marks a big step forward for the country’s gas ambitions.

NLNG’s Project Director for Train 7, Mr. Ali Uwais, gave the update at the 2026 Nigerian Oil and Gas Midstream and Downstream Summit in Lagos on Wednesday. He said the project — which faced years of uncertainty — finally took shape after the Final Investment Decision was signed in December 2019 by shareholders NNPC, Shell, TotalEnergies, and Eni.

When operational, Train 7 will boost NLNG’s production capacity from 22 million tonnes per annum to 30 MTPA — a 35% increase — strengthening Nigeria’s position in the global LNG market at a time when Europe is aggressively seeking alternatives to Russian gas.

Local Content Push

Uwais said Nigerian companies including Dorman Long, Aveon, and African Industries supplied a significant share of the 4,000 tons of structural steel required. All medium and high voltage cables were manufactured locally by Coleman, Mecom, Medgene, and Cable Metal. NLNG also invested in steel fabrication and galvanising facilities that will serve the wider industry after Train 7 is done.

At peak construction, over 13,000 Nigerians were on the job, with thousands more trained in welding, scaffolding, electrical work, and other specialist skills. The project has logged 130 million man-hours with only two lost-time injuries recorded.

But Uwais sounded a note of caution. “The real value of Train 7 will be measured by what Nigeria does with the experience, skills, infrastructure, and industrial capacity built through this project,” he said. “If we do not sustain investments in the oil and gas sector and wider industrial development, many of these gains will be lost.”

Sources: ThisDay, Arise News