Gas
Gas: NLNG train 7, Nigeria’s next major economic milestone- Attah
Yemie ADEOYE
HOUSTON Tx– Mr. Tony Attah, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG), has described NLNG’s Train 7 project as the next big deal for Nigeria. Train 7 will increase NLNG’s production capacity by 35%, generating huge value for the company, shareholders and the country.
Attah who spoke at the opening ceremony of the recently held 9th Practical Nigerian Content Conference in Yenagoa, Bayelsa state, South-South Nigeria said the project is coming into reality, adding “Train 7 is real; Train 7 is here. If you come to Bonny Island today, you will see that early site work has commenced and we are 97% prepared, just waiting to take that Final Investment Decision (FID)”.
He remarked that the relationship between NLNG and Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) on the Train 7 project was that of a partnership for progress. He said: “We co-created the Nigerian Content Plan, working in harmony with the agency just to understand the interpretation of the law and then co-creating how we comply. Overall, it’s all about consolidation and co-creating the future. I am proud to say in March 2019, we signed off the Nigerian Content Plan for Train 7 project, delivering 100% Nigerian content in construction, production of cables, welding, valves, scaffolding, furniture, painting and medical. It is going to be 55% of in-country engineering and procurement man-hours.”
Attah added that the project will generate over 12, 000 direct jobs during construction phase and in the upstream industry, with multiple spin-off effects in other sectors of the economy, increasing the number of jobs that will be generated over a six-year project window. He stated further that the project will help reduce restiveness in the Niger-Delta region by providing jobs, calling for more projects in Nigeria to change the socio-economic narrative in the country.
Making a case for gas development in Nigeria, Attah said “we believe the future is gas; we believe the future is bright for Nigeria. We are a gas country with some oil because in reality, we have more gas. With the energy transition, gas will play more actively and that is why we say let’s focus on gas. But the question is how focused is Nigeria on gas?
“Let’s put this in perspective. Today, Australia has a gas reserve of 125 Trillion cubic feet (Tcf) but has 88 MTPA LNG capacity. Malaysia has 97 Tcf with over 29 MTPA capacity while Indonesia has 103 Tcf with an LNG capacity of 26 MTPA. Nigeria has a gas reserve of 200 Tcf with just 22 MTPA capacity. We have an unproven reserve of 600 Tcf, and if you add that to the proven reserves of 20 Tcf, we have the opportunity to be the fourth in the ranks of gas producing countries.
“In our positioning in the ranks of LNG producing countries, we moved down to 5th position once Australia and the United States of America came online. If we do nothing, we will continue to slide down. We have to focus on development of gas especially in the upstream sector. Nigeria has ridden on the back of oil for over 50 years. We believe it is time to fly on the wings of gas,” he added.
Attah stated that the partnership with NCDMB has produced the very first business to business service level agreement (SLA) to operationalise the Nigerian Content law, adding that other collaborative efforts with NCDMB have led to huge gains for Nigerian Content especially in his Company’s BGT plus project in six of its vessels were replaced in 2017.
He remarked further that NLNG in this year celebrated 30 years of incorporation and 20 years of reliable and safe production, adding that the history of the company can be told in blocks of 30 which includes 30 years of the company’s founding fathers trying to make the LNG vision come into reality, 30 years of safe operations and the next 30 years which concerns the future of NLNG.
He stated that within those years of operations, NLNG has been able to help reduce gas flaring from 60% to less than 20% moving the country’s ranking in the league of gas flaring countries from second to seventh position. He pointed out that with Train 7, Nigeria’s gas flaring status will be further improved.
The event was attended by executives in the public and the oil and gas sectors, including the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva; NCDMB Executive Secretary, Engr. Simbi Wabote; Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Faruk Sa’id; Shell Companies in Nigeria Country Chair and SPDC MD, Osagie Okunbor; Chairman and Managing Director of Mobil Producing Nigeria, Paul McGrath; Managing Director, Eni, Lorenzo Fiorillo; and Deputy Managing Director, Total, Guillaume Dulout, among others.
Announces ambitious expansion plans
Platform Petroleum says the company is targeting a billion-dollar investment as it announces an ambitious strategic plan to bring 3 marginal fields into production by 2025, with a target of 10,000 barrels of oil and at least 50 billion standard cubic feet of gas per day.
Speaking on the sidelines of the 2024 Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston, USA, Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs, Chairman of Platform Petroleum said that the company has scheduled a roadshow in London this June 2024 to raise extra funding to finance their ambitious expansion plans.
“The upcoming roadshow aims to attract equity partners and prepare for future opportunities, targeting a billion-dollar investment. We are seeking partners ready to invest in Nigeria’s oil and gas potential.
Our goal is to showcase the country’s vast opportunities and its potential to international investors” Lulu-Briggs said.
Platform Petroleum’s roadshow in London will highlight the company’s efficient production, upgraded flow stations, increased capacity, and achievements in nearly zero emissions.
With about one percent gas flare currently, Platform aims for zero gas flares by the last quarter.
“Nigeria is a vast market, and Platform Petroleum is thinking big. With the government’s ambitious plans, such as the Lagos-Calabar coastal line, Platform is poised for growth; pushing itself to the next level, building on a strong foundation and following Seplat’s successful precedent”, Lulu-Briggs said.
Despite being a small company, he emphasized that Platform Petroleum has demonstrated significant success and efficiency, showcasing that smaller oil and gas entities can indeed achieve remarkable feats adding that he believes that the company deserves recognition and more assets.
“Platform Petroleum is ambitious, aspiring to become a tier-1 company akin to international oil companies (IOCs) or a tier-2 company like Seplat. Interestingly, Seplat originated from Maurel & Prom, Shebah Petroleum, and Platform Petroleum, and today stands as a major player in the industry.
This history underlines Platform’s potential for substantial growth”, Lulu-Briggs said.
Furthermore, the Platform Petroleum Chairman said that the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) is a crucial event for promoting Nigeria’s significant market potential.
“Partnering with the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN) at OTC is key to attracting investment. The current proactive government understands the necessity for economic growth, and Platform is prepared to leverage every opportunity in the oil and gas industry to contribute to this expansion”, he concluded.
Precious ADELOLA
The NNPC/Aiteo Joint venture has announced the introduction of Nembe Crude Oil Grade, a new crude oil grade into the international crude oil market.
The announcement of the Nembe Crude Oil Blend, produced by Aiteo, the Operator of the NNPC/Aiteo Oil Mining Lease (OML) 29 Joint Venture (JV), was made at the ongoing Argus European Crude Conference in London, on Tuesday.
OML 29, an asset located onshore Nigeria, is operated by Aiteo Eastern Exploration & Production Ltd, Africa’s leading indigenous hydrocarbon producer, following a historic acquisition from Shell in 2014.
NNPCL Boss, Engr. Mele Kyari
The Nembe Crude was previously blended with the popular Bonny Light grade and exported via the Bonny Oil & Gas Terminal.
The unique selling point of the Nembe Crude Oil grade with an API gravity was highlighted by both the Aiteo E & P and NNPC Limited Leadership at the Argus Conference in London.
The Nembe Crude Oil grade also has a low sulphur content and low carbon footprint due to flare gas elimination, fitting perfectly into the required spec of major buyers in Europe.
Two cargoes of 950,000 barrels each of the Nembe Crude Oil grade have since been exported to France and the Netherlands. With its attractive Assay of API 29 and low sulphur content, the Nembe Crude Oil grade commands a premium to the global Brent benchmark.
With the NNPC-Aiteo OML 29 JV back on-stream, Nigeria now boasts of an additional crude oil export of 2 Cargoes at 950,000 barrels each per month and 1.2 Bcf of export gas monthly.
This remarkable achievement signals the commencement of activities at Nigeria’s newest crude oil terminal, the Nembe Crude Oil Export Terminal (NCOET), which was licensed in line with the extant laws and Crude Oil Terminal establishment regulations.
The terminal was conceived as a Floating Storage and Offloading Vessel (FSO) with a storage capacity of two (2) Million Barrels and the ability to offload crude oil to any export tanker from AFRAMAX to Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCC).
It has a loading capacity of 25,000 barrels per hour and will be exporting over 3.6 million barrels of Crude oil monthly at full scale of operation.
Currently, hydrocarbon production from OML 29, which was hitherto constrained due to evacuation challenges owing to the security issues around the Nembe Creek Trunk Line (NCTL) corridor, has now been resolved through a collaborative and creative approach that led to the innovation of the Alternative Crude Oil Evacuation Solution.
The Argus European Crude Conference 2023 in London is a gathering of energy majors, refiners, NOCs, traders, financial institutions, and other representatives from across the global oil markets. The event also provides a critical opportunity for business leaders to connect, discuss, share and learn from one another.
Modupe Asudo
Major players in the oil and gas sector in Nigeria led by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) have covenanted to optimise operations by reducing contracting cycle to not more than 180 days.
A statement issued by the company disclosed that the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to this effect was endorced on Monday in Abuja at the company’s head office.
Other parties to the the contract include, the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, (NCDMB) and international oil companies.
Biztellers reports that an optimised contracting cycle was expected to improve the ease of doing business, reduce cost and drive efficiency, which would eventually translate to production growth, increased revenues, and ultimately improved profitability.
In addition, the MoU was expected to contribute significantly to the double-digit economic growth rate agenda of the Federal Government and generate value for all stakeholders, including investors, companies, host communities and Nigeria.
Notable elements in the framework of the MoU, going by the statement, included a reduction of the contracting cycle for open competitive tender, selective tender, and single sourcing tender to 180, 178, and 128 working days respectively.
This was in contrast with the current best effort performance of 327, 333, and 185 working days respectively.
According to Group Chief Executive Officer, NNPCL, Mele Kyari, signing the agreement portends exciting times for Nigeria’s oil and gas industry, in addition to standing as a bold testimony that the company was plunging into the future of hope, productivity and success.
Kyari, represented at the occasion by Executive Vice President, Upstream, NNPCL, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, pointed out that with oil and gas as the bedrock of Nigeria’s economy, there was need to get the contracting process in the Industry right so as to get the economy back on track.
In his remarks, Executive Secretary, NCDMB, Simbi Wabote, described the MoU as a way forward and a critical step towards enhancing the nation’s crude oil production.
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