Page 10 - GLNG Week 10 2021

GLNG AFRICA GLNG

Attah urges NLNG to consider

expansion on a larger scale

INVESTMENT NIGERIA LNG (NLNG) should consider more total production capacity up from 77mn tpy to
ambitious plans for expansion, according to 126mn tpy.
Tony Attah, the consortium’s managing director. Qatar’s ambitious moves indicate that NLNG
Speaking at a recent industry conference ought to aim higher, Attah commented. To that
hosted by the Nigerian Gas Association (NGA), end, he said, the consortium is ready to work
Attah reported that NLNG had already benefited with Nigeria’s government to support efforts
the country’s economy by generating more than to expand both gas production and domestic
$100bn in revenues, $38bn in tax receipts and gasification.
$35bn in dividends. These figures are sure to “We offer ourselves as partners to the gov-
grow once the group completes the Train 7 pro- ernment, but most importantly, we say, we are Qatar’s ambitious
ject, adding another production train to its gas available. If you can produce the gas, we can take
liquefaction plant on Bonny Island and raising it,” he declared. moves indicate
its overall production capacity to 30mn tonnes Train 7 will not be the end of expansion
per year (tpy), he said. work at NLNG. The Nigerian government has that NLNG
Nevertheless, he said, Nigeria – and NLNG, said before that the Bonny Island liquefaction
its only LNG producer – should learn from the plant may eventually have as many as 12 trains ought to aim
example set by Qatar. He noted that the Middle in operation, and Mele Kyari, the group man- higher, Attah
Eastern state had begun producing LNG in 1997, aging director of Nigerian National Petro-
just two years before NLNG’s first production leum Corp. (NNPC), told reporters late last commented.
train came online. Since then, he said, Qatar has year that NLNG’s shareholders were already
become the biggest LNG producer in the world, holding discussions on the construction of
raising its total LNG production capacity to Train 8.
77mn tpy. Nigeria, by contrast, has only pushed Equity in NLNG is divided between state-
output up to 22.5mn tpy. owned NNPC, with 49%; Royal Dutch Shell
The gap between the two countries is evi- (UK/Netherlands), with 25.6%; Total (France),
dent in the difference between their expansion with 15%, and Eni (Italy), with 10.4%. The con-
projects, he added. NLNG’s Train 7 project calls sortium’s members made a final investment deci-
for raising the Bonny Island plant’s capacity sion (FID) on the Train 7 project last year. This
from 22.5mn tpy to 30mn tpy, he noted, while initiative envisions the construction of a seventh
Qatar’s North field expansion project will oper- production train that can turn out 4.2mn tpy,
ate on a different scale, adding nearly 30mn as well as the debottlenecking of existing trains,
tpy of new capacity and bringing the country’s which will add another 3.4mn tpy of capacity.™

P10 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 10 12•March•2021