Further exacerbating LNG supplies at a time of high demand is the news that Nigeria LNG (NLNG) has declared force majeure, due to widespread flooding.
NLNG said that because of the floods, which had cut off supplies, all of its upstream gas suppliers had declared force majeure, forcing the state-owned company to also make the declaration.
"The notice by the gas suppliers was a result of high flood water levels in their operational areas, leading to a shut-in of gas production, which has caused significant disruption of gas supply to NLNG," the company’s spokesperson Andy Odeh told local media last week.
Odeh said NLNG was investigating the extent of the disruption and would try to mitigate the force majeure’s impact.
Local Nigerian officials warned that the flooding, caused by unusually heavy rains and the release of water from a Cameroon dam, could continue into November.
NLNG had exported about 18 cargoes in September, according to Refinitiv data, but it was thought that no cargoes had been cancelled thus far, due to the flooding.
Prolific oil theft has also hit NLNG’s supply slashing output from what is normally Africa's largest exporter.
Nigeria relies on fossil fuel exports for 90% of its foreign exchange and roughly half of its budget.
