The Nigerian Midstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has granted Nigeria’s UTM Offshore consortium a ‘license-to-construct’, thus enabling the first FLNG in the country to be developed.
This project, to be located in OML 104 in Akwa Ibom State, is due to be commissioned in 2028 and will aim to process 324 mill cu ft per day of natural gas, including LPG and condensate, plus 2.8 mill tonnes of LNG per year.
Farouk Ahmed, NMDPRA CEO saw the development as a ”significant milestone”, which he said aligns with the gas expansion ambitions of the federal government, including the expansion of Nigeria’s midstream gas facilities.
Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu gave his support when he met representatives of the joint venture partners, UTM FLNG, Technip Energies and JGC Corp.
Speaking to the media after the meeting, leader of the delegation and UTM FLNG Group Managing Director (GMD), Julius Rone, said the FLNGs were being implemented with the help of a $5 bill loan from Africa Export-Import Bank (AFRIEXIM).
UTM Offshore is currently developing an FLNG to be located in the deepwater Yoho field offshore Nigeria, which is expected to produce 176 mill cu ft of gas per day.
To help achieve this, UTM had engaged Japan Gas Corp (JGC), Technip Energies and Kellogg, Brown & Root (KBR).
At the license signing ceremony in Abuja, Nigeria’s Minister of State Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperipe Ekp said the initiative was in line with President Tinubu’s vision to transform the oil and gas sector.
Rone has assured industry stakeholders that the company had all the processes in place to ensure a smooth start.
He also said UTM was ready to meet the targeted production capacity of 2.8 tonnes per annum by the fourth quarter of 2028.
