Tinubu Commissions WAGL’s 40,000 CBM LPG Vessel in South Korea

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has inaugurated a 40,000 cubic metres Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) carrier, MT Iyaloja (Lagos), owned by WAGL Energy Limited, a joint venture between NNPC Limited and Sahara Group.

The commissioning ceremony took place on Monday in Ulsan, South Korea, with the President represented by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo.

Tinubu described the development as a milestone in Nigeria’s efforts to expand access to clean and sustainable energy both within the country and across Africa. He commended WAGL, NNPC Limited and Sahara Group for what he called their “strategic foresight, technical excellence and unwavering dedication” to boosting Africa’s role in the global clean energy value chain.

MT Iyaloja (Lagos) is a dual-fuel, fully refrigerated LPG vessel, bringing WAGL’s total fleet capacity to 162,000 CBM. Other ships in the company’s fleet include MT Africa Gas, MT Sahara Gas, MT BaruMK, and MT Sapet.

Speaking at the event, NNPC Group Chief Executive Officer, Engr. Bashir Bayo Ojulari, represented by Executive Vice President for Gas, Power and New Energy, Olalekan Ogunleye, said the vessel will play a key role in deepening Nigeria’s gas development and ensuring nationwide availability and affordability of LPG.

Ojulari noted that WAGL has delivered more than six million metric tonnes of LPG across West Africa in the past five years and is positioned to do more with its growing fleet.

WAGL Chairman and Sahara Group Executive Director, Temitope Shonubi, said the new vessel underlined the company’s vision of bridging Africa’s energy infrastructure gap. He added that naming the ship Iyaloja (Lagos) was in honour of the late Alhaja Abibatu Mogaji, the mother of President Tinubu.

Also speaking, WAGL’s Managing Director, Mohammed Sani Bello, revealed plans to further expand the fleet within two years with the addition of a Small Gas Carrier and a Very Large Gas Carrier (VLGC).

The naming ceremony concluded with the symbolic ribbon-cutting performed by the Iyaloja-General of Nigeria, Alhaja Folasade Mujidat Tinubu-Ojo, granddaughter of the late Alhaja Mogaji.