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Nigeria urged to expand use of gas
NIGERIA
THE Nigerian government’s oil and gas regu- latory agency has released a report urging the country to make better use of its natural gas reserves.
The Department of Petroleum Resources noted that Nigeria’s proven gas reserves stood at 200.79tn cubic feet (5.686tn cubic metres) as of January 1, 2019. This represents an increase of nearly 2% on the figure of 197 tcf (5.579 tcm) posted on January 1, 2017, it said, adding that estimates might eventually go as high as 600 tcf (16.992 tcm) as more deposits were found.
At the same time, the department said, Nige- ria is only extracting about 8.06bn cubic feet (228.25mn cubic metres per day) of gas. Cur- rently, it stated, producers send only 17% of these volumes to the domestic market, where they can be used to produce electricity at thermal power plants (TPPs). The remaining 83% is reserved for other purposes, with 41% going to the export market via companies such as Nigeria LNG and West African Gas Pipeline Co. (WAGPCo), 31% allocated for re-injection into offshore oil reser- voirs and 11% flared off as waste gas.
According to the report, authorities in Abuja ought to take action to make larger volumes of gas available for domestic consumption.
“Nigeria’s gas resources [have] the potential to catalyse industrial growth and development, in addition to [their] role as a key revenue earner [for] the government,” it said.
The department’s report came to light shortly after the Nigerian Gas Association (NGA) released a statement asking the government to promote and support efforts to increase domes- tic gas consumption. “Natural gas is that one singular resource Nigeria can leverage to create transformative change across various sectors and spheres of industry,” said Audrey Joe-Ezigbo, NGA’s national president. Shortly afterwards, Dr Godswill Ihetu, the former CEO of Nigeria LNG, told The Nation that local producers had actually been delivering less gas to TPPs this year.
As of the end of June, he said, the volume of locally produced gas flowing to Nigerian power stations stood at 751.17mn cubic feet (21.27 mcm) per day. This is down by 1.35% on the fig- ure posted on the same date in 2018, he said.
Ihetu speculated that conditions could improve in the future. Three of the biggest oil companies working in Nigeria – Royal Dutch Shell, ExxonMobil and Chevron – are all look- ing into proposals for expanding the use of gas in Nigeria’s industrial sector, he said.
Renergen signs two contracts for work on Virginia Gas Project
SOUTH AFRICA
SOUTH Africa’s Renergen is moving forward with work on the Virginia Gas Project, which will be the country’s first commercial LNG plant, as well as the first liquid helium plant in Africa.
Last week, the company awarded two major contracts for work on the facility. One of the contracts went to another South African firm – EPCM Bonisana, which will install a pipeline and manage the interface between the pipe and other parts of the facility. The other contract went to Western Shell Cryogenic Equipment (WSCE), a Chinese firm, and covers the delivery of technology and equipment for the plant.
Renergen said in a statement that it had cho- sen to work with WSCE because the Chinese company had extensive experience in the con- struction of small-scale LNG plants. The con- tractor built its first facility of this type in 2004 and was responsible for constructing the small- est LNG plant in the world in 2007.
“We look forward to seeing Renergen and
WSCE making liquid natural gas and liquid helium in South Africa a reality,” the statement said.
The South African company did not reveal the value of the contracts or say when WSCE and EPCM Bonisana would begin work. It did say, though, that the Virginia Gas Project was due to begin regular commercial operations in the first half of 2021. The facility will eventually be able to turn out 645.3 tonnes per day of LNG and 350 kg per day of liquid helium, it said.
According to the statement, Renergen will build the plant according to a modular plan, and each section will be the size of a standard shipping container. This will make the modules easier to transport and install, it commented.
The company also noted that the plant’s energy consumption levels would be relatively low. This is because the design calls for using a mixed refrigeration cycle to liquefy the gases, it explained.
Week 44 06•November•2019 w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m P9
