Nigeria LNG Clinches Supply Deal
Nigeria LNG (NLNG) has struck a 20-year agreement to supply gas from its planned seventh export train with joint ventures led by its foreign investors.
The deal was signed with Shell Petroleum Development, Total E&P Nigeria and Eni’s Nigerian Agip Oil Co., during a ceremony in Abuja, NLNG said in messages on Twitter on December 13. Shell, Total and Eni are shareholders in NLNG alongside state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corp.
A separate 10-year contract was also agreed for LNG from NLNG’s existing six trains.
NLNG’s current export capacity is 22mn mt/yr, with the seventh train set to raise this to 30mn mt/yr. A final investment decision (FID) was planned on the project in 2018, but this deadline was not kept.
NLNG’s managing director Tony Attah hailed the new contract for the seventh train as a “milestone”, without specifying how much of the plant’s output it covered. He added that NLNG still needed to confirm gas supply before the new unit could be built.
Attah also expressed frustration at how long it was taking Nigeria to capitalise on its gas resources, estimated by BP at 5.5 trillion m3 proven.
“Nigeria was number 4 in the rankings of LNG suppliers but we are slipping down the tanks because of countries increasing their LNG capacity,” he said.
NLNG launched its sixth train more than a decade ago. The country should be constructing its 12th rather than its seventh train by now, Attah said.
“It is time for gas. Beyond the changing energy mix, we have seen countries like Qatar ride on the back of gas to development,” he explained. “Nigeria has ridden on the back of oil for far too long. We think it is time for Nigeria to ride on gas.”
“The best time to develop our gas resources in Nigeria is yesterday. The next best time is NOW,” he concluded.
Earlier this week NLNG also penned a deal with commodities trader Vitol for 500,000 mt/yr of LNG supply from its first three trains over a 10-year period.