TheCable

Greenville LNG, a production and distribution company, may face another lawsuit over alleged default in its supply deal with BUA Group, a Nigerian-based manufacturing giant.

Owned by Eddy Van Den Broeke, a Belgian cement magnate, Greenville classified itself as the pioneer Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) production and distribution company in Nigeria, with three liquefaction trains and a total capacity to produce 2250 MT of LNG per day.

The development is coming a year after a US court affirmed a $9 million fine slammed on the parent company, International Engineering & Construction (IEC), a Luxembourg-based construction company, over a failed small-scale LNG project in Nigeria with a subcontractor Baker Hughes.

A source said BUA, one of Greenville’s largest clients, is set to sue the company for N50 billion (over $100 million) over a possible breach of contract and reneging on its obligation to supply gas to its core businesses in the north.

“This dispute is a result of Greenville LNG reneging on their contract with BUA to supply gas and increasing prices arbitrarily despite the contractually agreed oil-indexed pricing for any price changes,” the source said.

“Greenville is also trying to take advantage of its near monopoly in the domestic trucked LNG market hence their habit of entering into contracts and reneging on them after starting.”

With the development, another source familiar with the deal said BUA is committed to enforcing its rights through the legal system.