President orders relocation of $500m oil project from Lagos to Bayelsa

The directive was given to LADOL Integrated Logistics, the company behind the project, by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) citing a Presidential order.

President Goodluck Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan has reportedly ordered the relocation of the $500million fabrication and integrated yards project in Tarkwa Bay, Lagos State to Aggey, Bayelsa State.

The directive was given to LADOL Integrated Logistics, the company behind the project, by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) citing a Presidential order.

The NPA passed down the order via a letter dated April 27, 2015, and signed by NPA’s General Manager (Capital Project), A.R. Mohammed, on behalf of the Managing Director.

The letter was titled: “Re: Joint Venture Partnership with Samsung Heavy Industries for the USD$500 Million development of fabrication and integration yards for EGINA and Future Projects.”

It reads:

“Please, be informed that Mr President has via PRESS/S9/MT/212 of April 20, 2015 approved that the FPSO (Floating Production Storage & Offloading) project can be located at Agge, Bayelsa State when the facilities to handle such operations are developed. In addition, the project can be conveniently located at any dedicated Oil and Gas Terminal”.

In response however, the Managing Director of LADOL, Amy Jadesimi described the development as shocking.

“We got the two letters the same day: a day after the appointment of the new MD of NPA. I want to make it clear that we (LADOL) do not have problems with NPA because they are using our facility,” Jadesimi said.

“NPA has an office in LADOL Free Trade Zone. NPA had severally said LADOL is the largest private investor in its facility. By the end of 2017, LADOL would have invested $500million in NPA facility. Technically, it is not appropriate for the project to be relocated to Bayelsa, the President’s home state,” she added.

She also said that the move would send wrong signals to private investors and foreign technical partners as a lot of resources have already been utilized to put the facilities in place.