The Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) will begin remarketing the second tranche of its LNG trains 4, 5, and 6 from 2022 as one of the consequences of the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic which has slowed down the industry and most economies.
The company’s facility located on Bonny Island has six trains, with the first tranche being Trains 1, 2 and 3. It recently won a final investment decision for its 7th Train.
Tony Attah, the company’s managing director, in a video conference interview with Pat Roberts, managing director, LNG Wordwide Ltd, on the theme ‘Spotlight on Nigeria LNG’s Train 7’, said the company was counting on the pandemic running its full course before it begins remarketing it second set of trains.
“COVID-19 has brought some pressure going by what we went through to remarket 7 million tonnes but we have learnt a lot,” said Attah.
The NLNG boss said the company took the decision to start remarketing early based on the lessons learned from previous efforts.
“We are more prepared now, we have learnt a lot over the remarketing of the first two trains; 4, 5, 6 will go through the same format,” Attah said.
“But the offtakers for Train 7 are guaranteed and we hope that by 2022 when efforts begin fully to remarket Trains 4-6, COVID-19 should have been out of the way, there would have been sufficient understanding about how to eliminate the virus,” said Attah.
NLNG sells its output through long-term contracts of at least 10 years to markets in Europe and Asia but has struggled to renew contracts for its previous volumes (Train 1-3).
An LNG train is the facility where natural gas is liquefied and purified for sale.
In January, the NLNG and Total Gas & Power (TGP) signed a Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA) for some volumes from NLNG’s Trains 1, 2 and 3. The agreement guaranteed the supply of 1.5mtpa for a 10- year term on a delivered ex-ship and Free on Board (FOB) basis. It also signed similar agreement with Eni.
Shortly thereafter, it also signed an agreement with Galp Trading SA to supply 1 million tonnes of LNG per year. The deal ensured the company received a 10-year supply on a delivered ex-ship basis from Trains 1, 2 and 3.
The NLNG is a Nigerian gas company with 49 percent stake held by Nigeria through the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC); Shell has the second highest stake of 25.6 percent. Others are Total (15 percent) and ENI (10.4 percent).
