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Nigerian Liquid Natural Gas
Nigeria’s timely emerging capacity
Strong signs of an upturn in demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) emerged as 2009 drew to a close and Nigeria prepared to increase capacity, with some analysts predicting the global thirst for LNG will double by 2020, easily topping 400 million tonnes. The global market for LNG expanded by 70% between 2002 and 2008 and global trade in LNG rose 7.9% in 2009, even as the recession caused gas use worldwide to drop. LNG production capacity is expected to grow by some 50% worldwide over the next four years. South East Asia and Europe look set to lead a new clamour for LNG in their bid to diversify supplies as new regasification facilities come on stream.
Liquid Natural Gas in Nigeria
Nigeria is poised to be a key beneficiary as global markets emerge from the recession. The quest for clean energy and the demand for fuel to re-ignite economic growth are the primary factors driving the resurgence in the sector. Nigeria is speedily moving towards being a major gas player globally, and LNG is set to be a large contributor to GDP as new capacity comes on stream.
Nigeria came on the LNG scene with the formation of the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Company (NLNG), a company jointly owned by the NNPC (49%), Shell (25.6%), Total (15%) and Eni (10.4%).The consortium’s first major project was at Finima, Bonny Island, in Rivers State, where the facility’s first train came on stream in February 2000, swiftly followed by a second and trains 3 (2002), 4 and 5 (2005). Train 6 became operational in the last quarter of 2007. The plant now has total capacity of some 22 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of LNG, 4 mtpa of LPG and condensate from 3.5 bcf/d feedgas intake. Plans for building Train 7 that will extend capacity to around 30 mtpa LNG are at an advanced stage; when Train 7 comes on stream, the government will earn around USD1 billion a year in revenue from gas exports. In May 2010, Shell announced that it would soon begin supplying the NLNG plant at Bonny with gas from its new gas gathering facility at its Gbaran-Ubie Integrated Oil and Gas Project in Bayelsa State; the gas gathering facility represents a major step by Shell towards dealing with the waste of natural gas through gas flaring.
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