Following Federal Government’s plan to increase natural gas production capacity by 36 per cent, 15 vessels have left Onne Port, Rivers State, this month, with 992,534 metric tonnes of liquefied natural gas valued at N568.5 billion ($1.16 billion). A tonne of the gas is $1,172 or 7,500 Chinese Yuan in Asian market.
Others are LNG Abalamabie, 77,204tonnes; Methane Kari Elin, 61,451tonnes; LNG Port Harcourt II, 67,643tonnes LNG Sokoto, 61,249 tonnes; LNG Kano, 65,285 tonnes and LNG River Niger, 63,154tonnes.
President Muhammadu Buhari, had, last week, flagged off the construction of the $10 billion Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Train 7 project, asking for timely completion of the project in order to boost more gas production.
Also, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited, Anthony Attah, explained that Train 7 would increase the company’s overall capacity to 30 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) from the current 22 million mtpa. Currently, the company has installed asset valued at $11 billion, delivered 5,000 LNG cargoes around the world in 21 years and has 23 dedicated LNG ships to ensure a smooth operation. It would be recalled that NPA had said that it would team up with NLNG in a bid to increase natural gas production capacity by 36 per cent. According to NPA’s Executive Director, Marine and Operations, Onari Brown, the Authority decided to partner NLNG in increasing natural gas production from 22 million tonnes to 30 million tonnes per annum.
Brown noted that the Authority was poised to offer necessary collaborative support to the company in achieving the goals of its Train 7 projects, which would increase Nigeria’s liquefied natural gas production capacity by 36 per cent from the current 22 million tonnes per annum to 30 million tonnes per annum.
He said: “This expansion will ensure that Nigeria, with its significant gas reserves considered the ninth largest in the world, remains atop, reliable and the preferred supplier of LNG in the ever expanding energy market.”
Brown explained that there was need for the deep seaports to accommodate larger vessels and improve port services.
He added: “We are also conscious of the current limitation of our seaports in relations to the growing appeal of larger vessels, which should be deployed for the purpose of economies of scale.
“These ports will enhance our capacity to export more gas to our growing global client base with better turn around.” Meanwhile, NLNG has said that it would increase its supply from 370,000 metric tonnes (MT) to 450,000 tonnes in the domestic market.
Attah said at a forum in Abuja that the consumption of the domestic LPG market was over one million metric tonnes in 2020. He added that gas had a pivotal role to play in Nigeria’s socio-economic development as the world moves toward energy transition and renewable.
The managing director revealed that Nigeria was currently ranked 7th in the world in gas flaring compared to the second that it was 15 years ago, noting that the country would continue to work toward reducing its carbon emissions.
In February this year, 1.43 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas was exported out the country, while in January, 13 vessels ferried out 860,002 metric tonnes of natural gas from Onne Port.