The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPCL) has signed an investment pact with Golar LNG to deploy a floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessel off the coast of the Niger Delta region as part of current efforts to boost LNG production and distribution in the country.
A statement issued on Tuesday by the NNPCL’s spokesperson, Mr Olufemi Soneye, indicated that the Project Development Agreement (PDA) would utilise about 500 million standard cubic feet of gas per day, producing LNG, propane and condensates.
According to him, “the agreement aims to monetize vast proven gas reserves from shallow water resources offshore Nigeria.”
The company’s Chief Communications Officer stated that NNPCL and Golar LNG agreed to achieve a Final Investment Decision (FID) on the project before the end of this year with production expected to start in 2027.
The deal is the second floating LNG accord the NNPCL had signed with partners in the past year and followed two other LNG agreements with investors to increase its domestic supplies and exports.
Available data on Nigeria’s gas reserves indicates that the country holds gas reserves of more than 200 million trillion cubic feet and is seeking investments to boost output.
As part of the policy measures to achieve this, the Federal Government launched a national gas expansion programme in 2020 to end flaring by boosting domestic use of gas.
Industry analysts believe that the latest deal between the NNPCL and Golar CNG will substantially reduce the nation’s gas flare rate and support the ‘Go-Green” agenda for cleaner environment and socioeconomic well-being of Nigerians.
