The Nigerian National Petroleum Company has signed six agreements aimed at unlocking the country’s gas resources and strengthening energy security, spanning steel manufacturing, floating LNG and domestic gas transport.
Among the deals is a memorandum of understanding and a gas sale aggregation agreement with Ajaokuta Steel Company, a gas supply agreement with UTM FLNG, and three network entry agreements covering Chevron Nigeria, AGPC and NNPC Exploration and Production. The Ajaokuta pact, described by NNPC as the centrepiece of the signing, pairs a 20-year gas supply deal with plans to revive the long-dormant steel complex and produce pipes for projects such as the African-Atlantic Gas Pipeline and the Escravos-Lagos Pipeline System.
In a related deal, NNPC’s joint venture with Seplat Energy signed a 15-year wet gas sale and purchase agreement with UTM FLNG to supply 200 million standard cubic feet of gas a day, feed gas that is expected to help the floating LNG project reach a final investment decision in the fourth quarter of 2026. The FLNG vessel, with a capacity of 1.8 million tonnes of LNG a year, will draw gas from the Yoho field in OML 104 offshore Akwa Ibom State.
NNPC group chief executive Bashir Ojulari said the agreements would inject up to 800 million standard cubic feet of gas a day into the domestic network, and described the signings as a declaration of intent to power Nigeria’s industrial growth. Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas) Ekperikpe Ekpo said the deals would create jobs and draw fresh investment into the gas value chain.
Source: offshore-energy.biz, thesun.ng, dmarketforces.com