NLNG Train 7 reaches 50% construction traction, says CEO

Ben Eguzozie

Nigeria’s LNG Train 7 project, by far the nation’s latest effort at gas liquefaction in more than three decades, has attained 50 percent construction traction, according to the managing director and chief executive officer, Philip Mshelbila.

Mshelbila, while conducting a European Union delegation around the gas company’s plant on Bonny Island, River State, recently said, the Train 7 will bolster Nigeria LNG’s production capacity to 30 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) upon completion.

He added that NLNG is working on a plan to decarbonise, and was also looking to the future for further expansion with more trains, which would act as catalysts for the continued advancement of the gas sector.

The NLNG is owned by four shareholders, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (49%), Shell Gas B.V. (25.6%), TotalEnergies Gaz & Electricite Holdings (15%), and Eni International N.A. N. V. S.àr.l (10.4%).

In June 2021, former president Muhammadu Buhari flagged off the construction of the LNG train, considered as perhaps Nigeria’s early positive steps to upgrade its gas liquefaction effort. The project will increase Nigeria’s LNG six-train plant capacity by about 35 percent from an extant 22 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) to 30 MTPA.

Some gas value-chain experts told Business A.M. that the benefits of gas to Nigeria will increase on the back of the Train 7 project. That it will stimulate the inflow of more than $10 billion foreign direct investment (FDI) into Nigeria as part of the project scope; create more than 12,000 direct jobs and an additional 40,000 indirect construction jobs; and develop Nigerian local capacity and businesses. Also, the increase in volume supply to the global gas market as a result of Train 7 will keep NLNG and Nigeria on top of the suppliers’ chart as world LNG demand grows.

Since its establishment 20 years ago – the NLNG has generated $114 billion in revenues, paid $9 billion in taxes; $18 billion in dividends to the Nigerian federal government and $15 billion in feed gas purchase. Many say these are commendable accomplishments by the company’s 100 percent Nigeria management team.

According to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Nigeria has been able to export over 13 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of liquefied natural gas (LNG) between 2001 and 2017, especially through the NLNG company. Also, Nigeria as of 2017 ranked fourth place globally in natural gas exports; and controlled about 7% of the total global export of natural gas.

In particular, Nigeria’s LNG effort is way behind the global liquefaction which was put at 478.4 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) as of end of 2022, with the United States accounting for 75 percent (88.1MTPA) of the global operational liquefaction, according to the World LNG report.

Analysis by Rystad Energy said Africa has 2022 LNG liquefaction capacity of 77 MTPA, which is projected to increase to 146 MTPA by 2030, and 234 MTPA in 2040, if energy companies can address country-specific financing and security issues, and bring projects online in a timely manner. In addition, Africa will receive up to $90 billion in LNG-related investments between 2021 and 2030, and up to $118 billion between 2031 and 2040.

Rystad Energy also said Mozambique, Nigeria and Mauritania have the potential to massively boost their various liquefaction capacities, Algeria, Egypt and other African producers will record incremental capacity increases during the forecast period (2030 to 2040).