Page 9 - AfrElec Week 24 2021

AfrElec GAS-FIRED GENERATION AfrElec

DPR head unveils micro-LNG initiative

NIGERIA NIGERIA’S government is sponsoring plans for it can be transported to any [location]. With that
the establishment of hundreds of small-scale strategy, energy security for this country [can be]
LNG distribution centres across the country. achieved through the virtual pipelines,” he said,
According to Sarki Auwalu, the director of according to a statement published by DPR.
the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Auwalu did not comment on the cost of the
Abuja wants to establish a total of 774 such cen- micro-LNG initiative or say how much gas the
tres, one for each of Nigeria’s local government trucks might be able to deliver to consumers. Nor
areas. “DPR has developed a project we call Pro- did he specify when gas might begin arriving at
ject 774. The aim of this project is to ensure that the local distribution centres within the frame-
each and every [administrative division has] work of this programme.
a gas [regasification] and distribution centre However, he did state that the project would
with a micro-distribution centre,” he said on the support the Nigerian government’s efforts to
sidelines of the Nigeria International Petroleum promote the domestic utilisation, consumption
Summit (NIPS) last week. and commercialisation of natural and associated
Trucks will be used to transport LNG to the gas. Abuja has dubbed the 2021-2030 period the
distribution centres and also regasify it, Auwalu “decade of gas,” and the country is now work-
added. As such, they will be able to serve as vir- ing to increase its reserves, develop new fields,
tual pipelines, bringing natural gas to areas of expand infrastructure and reduce flaring, he
the country that are not yet connected to any stated.
transportation or distribution pipelines, he Success on this front is expected to create new
commented. jobs while also contributing to economic growth,
We have capabilities to have mini-LNG where he added.™

NLNG signs supply deals with

three local companies

NIGERIA THE Nigeria LNG (NLNG) consortium is a clean and affordable fuel for cooking and
revealed last week that it had signed supply deals home heating, he asserted.
with three local companies. The NLNG managing director also urged
Speaking at the CEO Roundtable session of Nigeria to make more use of its natural and
the Nigeria International Petroleum Summit associated gas reserves, saying that the coun-
(NIPS), NLNG’s managing director Tony Attah try did not need to use crude oil or petroleum
said the group had recently signed deals with products to power its economy. Nigeria has 203
Asiko Power, Bridport Energy and Gas-Plus trillion feet (5.75 trillion cubic metres) of gas in
Energy. These supply and purchase agreements proven reserves, as well as 600 tcf (16.99 tcm) in
(SPAs) provide for the delivery of 1.1mn tonnes potential reserves, he noted. This is enough to
per year (tpy) of LNG, he said, without revealing support a wide range of gas-to-power and indus-
how much each company would receive. trialisation programmes that have the potential
He further indicated that NLNG had negoti- to transform the economy, while also reining in
ated the deals within the framework of efforts to carbon emissions, he said.
promote domestic consumption of LNG, either NLNG is the operator of a gas liquefaction
as a fuel for manufacturing facilities and power plant on Bonny Island. The facility has six pro-
plants or as feedstock for LPG. The signing of the duction trains capable of turning out a total of
SPAs will facilitate efforts to establish local deliv- 22.5mn tpy, and its capacity is set to rise to 30mn
ery infrastructure, he said. tpy as a result of the Train 7 project. This scheme
In the meantime, Attah said, NLNG is also envisions the construction of a seventh produc-
expanding its own production of LPG for sale tion train that can turn out 4.2mn tpy, as well as
on the Nigerian market. The consortium turned the debottlenecking of existing trains, which will
out 370,000 tonnes of LPG last year and hopes add another 3.4mn tpy of capacity.
to raise the figure to 450,000 tonnes in 2022, he Equity in the consortium is divided between
stated. state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corp.
He also praised the Nigerian government’s (NNPC), with 49%; Royal Dutch Shell ™
policy of promoting LPG as an alternative to
solid fuels such as wood, charcoal or dung. LPG

Week 24 17•June•2021 www. NEWSBASE .com P9