By Adedapo Adesanya
The federal government has lauded the many opportunities open to the country as UTM Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Limited, JGC Corporation, Technip Energies and Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR) signed a Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) contract for the development of Nigeria’s first Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG) facility in London.
With the signed contract on Wednesday, the development of the FLNG facility in block OML 204 offshore Nigeria will kick off, enabling the country to maximize the exploitation of stranded gas resources in a sustainable manner.
Speaking at the event, Mr Timipre Sylva, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, said it would also contribute to the government’s agenda of reducing flaring and optimizing environmental sustainability in energy developments.
According to the Minister, with factors such as a lack of investment, transportation and export infrastructure, and technological challenges disrupting Nigeria from maximizing its gas industry, the FLNG facility is a step forward in the right direction for the West African country to develop, exploit and monetize its over 209 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of proven gas resources and a potential upside of 600 tcf of gas to ensure energy security, economic growth and the reduction in emissions.
He said, “Given the large resources that may be developed and used for commercial purposes, we have already proclaimed that gas is our transition fuel and a destination fuel, and we anticipate that it will be a major component of our energy mix by the year 2060.
“As a developing nation, we believe that affordable, accessible and reliable energy will continue to be essential to sustaining and powering our growing economy and lifting millions out of poverty. As a government, we know our action is essential to enable the evolution of the energy system. We believe innovation, technology and policy will be the key drivers of change.”
Highlighting the role of FLNG technology in accelerating gas exploitation, the Minister added that “We are aware that the number of offshore gas finds has surged in recent years around the world, with LNG and FLNG becoming even more important in terms of satisfying the world’s future energy needs.
“According to market research analysts, the FLNG market is estimated to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 27.14 per cent, reaching $88.99 billion by 2024. The UTM offshore FLNG project is therefore timely and will lead towards a faster-moving, more diverse and more flexible global LNG industry,” the minister said.
He also gave reference to some of the mechanisms and policy reforms, including the Decade of Gas, The Year of Gas and the Petroleum Industry Act implemented by the government to create an enabling environment to expand the country’s gas industry and ensure a just and inclusive energy transition.
