HOUSTON, Dec. 15, 1995

The Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Project's construction contract has been signed despite international protest to cancel the $4 billion project to retaliate against the African country's military dictatorship.

The massive LNG project is a venture between Shell, Nigerian National Petroleum Corp., Elf, and Agip. One early report said Brian Anderson, managing director of Shell Petroleum Development Co. of Nigeria, acknowledged the calls for the project to be halted as a gesture of political protest. "We respect these views, and understand the concerns they reflect," he said. "But we cannot accept that this would contribute to the good of Nigeria." He said the project demonstrated the commitment of Shell and its partners to the long-term future of Nigeria and its people.
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The plant will be built in Nigeria's oil-rich Niger Delta, home of the Ogoni ethnic minority that has waged a long battle against the oil
industry for compensation from pollution caused by oil spills. The activists hanged last month, including playwright Ken Saro-Wiwa, were Ogonis.

Oil provides at least 80 percent of Nigeria's export earnings.

The new plant will liquefy the gas for export to the United States and Europe. It is slated for completion in four years.

The Nigerian government has the biggest stake, at 49 percent, followed by Royal Dutch Shell with 25.6 percent.

The project at Finima on Bonny Island, Rivers State, is the biggest in sub-Saharan Africa The construction contract was awarded by Nigeria LNG Ltd. to a consortium of four firms -- Technip of France, Snamprogetti of Italy, M.W. Kellogg which is part of Dresser Industries of the United States, and Japan Gasoline Company.
State-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation holds 49 percent of Nigeria LNG Ltd. Other partners are Shell Gas BV, the technical leader with 25.6 percent. France's Elf Aquitaine holds 15 percent through its unit Cleag Ltd. Agip SpA of Italy has 10.4 percent.

Saro-Wiwa's MOSOP had been campaigning for compensation for Ogoni people for what it calls decades of exploitation of their land in southeast
Nigeria for oil by multinationals, especially Shell.

Shell is the biggest crude oil producing company in Nigeria, pumping almost half of the two million barrels per day Nigeria produces. Nigeria has already secured the marketing and shipping of the gas planned to be delivered from 1999.
Among those that have signed long term contracts to buy the Nigerian LNG are Enel of Italy, Enargas of Spain and Gaz de France. The project is to
build a plant to produce 7.2 billion cubic meters of LNG per annum.

Nigerian LNG Ltd. said the construction contract "covers the engineering, procurement and construction for the liquefaction plant at
Finima on Bonny Island, together with associated facilities and the gas transmission system to collect the natural gas from the gas producer."