New Telegraph

28 vessels depart Nigeria with N633.6bn natural gas

DECLINE

Gas flaring dropped by 21.75 per cent in the first quarter of 2021

 

No fewer than 28 vessels laden with 1.76 metric tonnes of natural gas valued at N633.6 billion ($1.26 million) have left Onne Port for foreign destinations.

 

The vessels left between June and August 2021 to various destinations in Europe and Asia.

 

It was gathered that due to high demand for the product, China’s comprehensive import price index for liquefied natural gas (LNG) had hit 4,664.88 yuan ($720) per tonne.

 

Statistics by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA)’s shipping position listed the vessels laden with the export cargo to include LNG Port Harcourt, 70,000 tonnes; Grace Dahlia 72,000 tonnes; LNG Rivers, 63,000 tonnes; LNG Lagos, 72,000 tonnes; Hellas Diana, 72,000 tonnes; Maran Gas Lindos 75,000 tonnes; LNG Bonny II, 70,000 tonnes; LNG Imo, 66,000 tonnes; LNG Borno 60,000 tonnes; LNG Sokoto 63,000 tonnes; LNG Gaslog Houston 78,000 tonnes; LNG Cross River, 63,000 tonnes; LNG Enugu, 64,000 tonnes and Maran Gas Chios, 76 tonnes.

Others are LNG Oyo with 66,000 tonnes; LNG Bonny, 72,000 tonnes; LNG Rivers, 63,000 tonnes and LNG Abuja II, 67, 548 tonnes; LNG Abalamabie, 77,204 tonnes; LNG Port Harcourt II, 67,643 tonnes; Maran Gas Chios, 66,000 tonnes; Neptune, 70,000 tonnes; LNG Bayelsa, 59,508 tonnes; LNG Enugu, 64, 851 tonnes; Macoma, 67,641 tonnes; LNG Sokoto, 61,249 tonnes; LNG Kano, 65,285 tonnes and LNG River Niger, 63,154 tonnes.

 

Meanwhile, findings revealed that gas flare in the country oil fields has fallen by 0.33 per cent in the first quarter of 2021 to 45.33 billion cubic feet (BCF), compared to 45.48BCF of gas flared in the fourth quarter of 2020.

 

Data by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) indicated that gas flare also dropped by 21.75 per cent in the first quarter of 2021 from the 57.93BCF recorded in the first quarter of 2020.

 

The NNPC data showed that in 24 months, from March 2019 to February 2021, a total of 430.97BCF of gas was flared, an equivalent of 1,720 Giga Watts of power was lost in two years.

 

It would be recalled that in June, Vitol signed a 10-year deal with Nigerian Liquefied natural Gas (NLNG) to off take 500,000 tonnes of LNG annually, beginning from October 2021.

 

The volumes are expected to be purchased from trains 1, 2 and 3 of the currently operational six trains. Also in May 2021, KBR, an engineering firm received contract to develop Nigeria’s first ever Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG) facility9, a pioneer project in most of Africa.

 

The FLNG technology is expected to help harness more of the natural gas reserves by enabling the exploitation of smaller stranded reserves, which hitherto did not make economic sense within the context of onshore development.

 

Also, it was the technology that would promote gas monetisation (as against unchecked flaring), consequently leading to decar bonisation in the country.

 

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 the NPA Executive Director of Marine and Operations, Onari Brown, the Authority had decided to partner NLNG in increasing natural gas production from 22 million tonnes to 30 million tonnes per annum.

 

Brown noted 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.”

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