The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC has said it plans partner the Danish government and a Danish firm, Unibio A/S Limited, to set up a Joint Venture Company that would produce animal feeds from natural gas.
The NNPC, in a statement signed by its Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, said the Danish government would guarantee a 10 per cent equity financing of the JV Company that would involve NNPC and Unibio.
According to the statement NNPC’ Group Managing Director, Dr. Maikanti Baru, who said this in Abuja, noted that the proposed JV company would be engaged in the production of animal feeds from Nigeria’s abundant natural gas resources through conversion of methane gas into protein, which also has no negative impact for human consumption.
Baru, who was speaking while receiving a delegation from Denmark led by the Danish Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Torben Gettermann, said that the NNPC and Unibio is set to tap into the animal feeds industry in Nigeria which amounts to N800 billion annually. Represented by the NNPC’s Chief Operating Officer, Ventures, Mr. Babatunde Adeniran, Baru said such collaboration would have positive impact on the Nigerian economy in the area of revenue generation, food security and job creation.
According to the NNPC helmsman, the corporation was considering partnership with the Danish company to utilise the abundant natural gas resources in the country for the production of animal feeds as part of its diversification agenda into non-oil ventures like other national oil companies to generate additional revenue for the country. He said, “This proposal, though it is coming newly, has already started gaining traction in the industry and across the globe especially in Europe. Nigeria being the first point of call in Africa, we can leverage on the opportunity to increase the revenue of the country through local food production.” Baru described the project as laudable, adding that it was capable of making positive impact on the country’s economy, adding that the Corporation would look at the proposal holistically to ensure that Nigeria derives maximum benefit from it.
He applauded the Federal Government for providing an enabling business environment which has already started attracting investors into the country. Shedding more light on the proposal, the Chief Executive Officer of Unibio A/S Limited, Mr. Henrik Busch-Larsen stated that his company owned the right to a unique fermentation technology known as U-Loop Technology which enables natural gas conversion into a highly concentrated protein product called Uniprotein. Busch-Larsen said the product could be used to feed such animals as pigs, poultry, and fish.
Mr. Busch-Larsen explained that Uniprotein had a raw protein content of at least 72 per cent which is a key component in animal feeds and can conveniently substitute the traditional proteins in animal feeds such as fishmeal and soybeans.
Multinational food/care products companies as Nestlé, Procter and Gamble, (P&G) and Colgate-Palmolive, he noted, had already started using the products as feedstock.
Also speaking, the Danish Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Torben Gettermann, stated that Unibio had revolutionised natural gas conversion into animal feeds. He said, “There are huge possibilities in view of the demands for this kind of feeds and it will boost food production in Nigeria tremendously. The benefits are not only in local production and consumption of the feeds but also in terms of revenue generation in foreign currencies through export.” He said Nigeria was an important partner to the Danish Government both politically and economically, adding that the Danish Government had established a special office in Lagos to facilitate trade relationship between the two countries.
