Tuesday, August 19, 2025 | by DAILY MENTOR NEWS
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd), Bayo Ojulari, have underscored the significance of commissioning WAGL Energy Limited’s 40,000 cubic metre (CBM) Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) vessel in advancing Nigeria’s clean energy agenda and economic development.
The vessel, christened MT Iyaloja (Lagos), was commissioned on Monday in Ulsan, South Korea. WAGL Energy Limited, a joint venture between NNPC Ltd and Sahara Group, owns and operates a fleet of dual-fuel, fully refrigerated LPG carriers. This latest addition increases their fleet capacity to 162,000 CBM.
Speaking at the ceremony, represented by Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, President Tinubu commended the strategic foresight, technical excellence, and dedication of WAGL Energy, NNPC Ltd, and Sahara Group in expanding Africa’s role in the global clean energy transition.
Bayo Ojulari highlighted the vessel’s importance in realizing the economic potential of gas in Nigeria. He noted:
“NNPC Ltd takes pride as a major shareholder in this indigenous company which, alongside MT Iyaloja (Lagos), operates four other LPG vessels, delivering over six million metric tonnes of LPG across West Africa over the last five years.”
Temitope Shonubi, Chairman and Executive Director at Sahara Group, remarked that the expansion of WAGL’s fleet embodies its vision to responsibly bridge Africa’s critical energy infrastructure gap.
The vessel was named to honor the legacy of Alhaja Abibatu Mogaji, MFR, the late mother of President Tinubu. The ribbon-cutting was performed by her granddaughter, the Iyaloja-General of Nigeria, Alhaja Folasade Mujidat Tinubu-Ojo.
WAGL’s Managing Director, Mohammed Sani Bello, expressed commitment to expanding the company’s integrated supply network across the energy value chain and announced plans to further grow the fleet with additional vessels including a small gas carrier and a Very Large Gas Carrier (VLGC) within the next two years.
The commissioning of MT Iyaloja (Lagos) stands as a milestone in Nigeria’s journey towards clean energy adoption, LPG affordability, and regional energy economic diversification.