Africa Press-Nigeria:
The LNG industry has become increasingly diverse in the past 20 years. But it must not rest on its laurels and still has progress to make, says Tolu Longe, production support manager at Nigeria’s NLNG and 2020’s Vanguard winner in ExxonMobil’s Power Play awards.
Longe has been involved in the LNG industry since 1998, after studies that took her from Nigeria via London to Western Australia’s Curtin University. The Vanguard award recognises a male or female professional who displays outstanding leadership. Longe played a key part in the development of NLNG’s debottlenecking and the NLNG Train 7 project that finally achieved FID in December 2019. Her current role puts her at the heart of Train 7’s construction phase.
Congratulations on your award. The Vanguard category is all about inspiring others, does that make it particularly special for you?
Longe: The award is definitely very special to me. I believe that every individual can be an inspiration to someone else. It only takes the right person and the right platform for the stories to be told. Granted, people are blessed with specific gifts and talents that can lead to greatness, but they lie latent in some people. And it is a beautiful thing that our gifts and talents are diverse.
However, to be an inspiration is a responsibility that must not be taken lightly. As others have paved the way for us to enjoy many opportunities today, we too must strive to create opportunities for others that they may bypass much of the pain that we endured along the way. This is why the Vanguard award is particularly special to me.
In addition, as a Nigerian living in Nigeria, I feel great about the award because it portrays the fact that good things also come out of Nigeria, and indeed Africa as a whole. I am convinced that I can work with phenomenal women like Mervin Azeta, the Rising Star award winner, to shine a positive light on Africa, using the amazing Power Play platform.
To every young lady or woman who might be wondering if it is possible to make a positive change, I say to you, “Yes, it is!”. I hope to use the next year to help publicise the possibilities that exist in this energy industry, particularly in LNG. We all need to participate in the creation of the more environmentally friendly world that we want. And if we fail, we will deny many people the opportunity to maximally utilise their talents and gifts.
You have been in the LNG industry for over 20 years now. How have you seen it evolve in that time?
Longe: I have seen several changes in the last 20 years, including Nigeria evolving from just an oil-producing country to become the fifth-largest LNG exporter in the world. In the same time, the US has become an exporter of LNG, from its previous role as an importer. Qatar, in just over 20 years, has transformed from zero shipments in 1997 to a 77mn t/yr LNG exporter, with phenomenal GDP growth as a result.
