Planned for three decades, Shell finally posted the final investment decision for the first liquefied natural gas export train on Nigeria’s Bonny Island in late 1995.
Plant construction began the following year, with initial shipments scheduled for 1999 — successfully meeting targets to reduce gas flaring by 20% by the turn of the century. The principal catalyst for getting this scheme off the drawing board was the tragic death of Ogoni activist-leader Ken Saro-Wiwa at the hands of Nigerian soldiers — on the orders of the late General Sani Abacha — an event that shook the industry, drawing anger from environmentalists and human rights activists around the world.
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