Adedapo Adesanya
By Adedapo Adesanya
Revenues earned by Nigeria from liquified natural gas (LNG) declined by 11.6 per cent in the first quarter of the year against the N704 billion in the fourth quarter of last year.
According to the data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), between January and March this year, Nigeria’s LNG export earnings dropped to N622 billion.
This was the lowest quarterly income from LNG for Nigeria since the first quarter of 2022, when LNG prices and demand surged following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
According to NBS, Nigeria earned N622 billion, N704 billion, N757 billion, N735 billion and N655 billion in Q1 2023, Q4 2022, Q3 2022, Q2 2022 and Q1 2022, respectively.
The report also stated that natural gas sales account for 9.59 per cent of the total export share in the first three months of this year.
The drop in revenue came as Nigeria struggled with low investment and security challenges that took its toll on the country’s oil and gas industry.
In January, Nigeria LNG (NLNG), which is responsible for all of Nigeria’s gas exports, cancelled several shipments due to vandalism on gas pipelines that disrupted operations.
Nigerian LNG accounted for 7 per cent of the European supply of super-chilled fuel in 2022, per data compiled by BloombergNEF.
Business Post also reported that Portugal faced supply problems after Nigeria, its key export partner for the commodity, struggled to deliver its LNG needs. It came at a time when Europe was trying to wean itself of Russian gas after the country attacked Ukraine.
NLNG Limited’s terminal at Bonny Island has, over the years, failed to operate at an optimal level and dropped to as much as 50 per cent capacity.
