- Nigeria can potentially export more than the 9.4bcm of LNG to Europe between now and 2027.
- The ongoing seventh gas plant (Trian-7 project) by NLNG is about 50 per cent to completion.
The European Union has announced that following the boycott of Russia’s crude oil and gas by NATO countries over the invasion of Ukraine, European countries imported 9.4 billion cubic metres of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) from Nigeria in 2022.
EU’s Commissioner for Energy in Nigeria, Ms Kadri Simson, during a visit to the Nigeria LNG (NLNG) plant in Bonny Island, Rivers State, said that though the EU was promoting energy transition away from fossil fuels, it will continue to rely on LNG in the short term. She described Nigeria as a reliable partner and noted that the country has the potential to export more LNG to Europe between now and 2027.
She said, “The EU is accelerating its energy transition, but we also need to reinforce our ties with reliable LNG partners like Nigeria in the short-term horizon. This helps us to bridge part of the gap left by former Russian imports while we gradually transition away from fossil fuels. Nigeria has proven to be a reliable partner, and last year, 9.4bcm of LNG was exported from Nigeria to the EU. But there is potential to do more – particularly between now and 2027.”
In a similar development, NLNG Limited announced that its ongoing seventh gas plant, the Trian-7 project, was about 50 per cent to completion. The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NLNG Limited, Dr Philip Mshelbila, said the Train-7 Project would increase NLNG’s production capacity to 30 million tonnes per annum upon completion.
He added that NLNG was working on a plan to decarbonise. He stated that the company was also looking for further expansion with more trains, which would act as catalysts for the continued advancement of the gas sector. Four shareholders own NLNG; they include the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (49%), Shell Gas BV (25.6%), TotalEnergies Gaz & Electricite Holdings (15%), and Eni International NA. N. V. S.àr.l (10.4%).