NLNG Targets End-2027 Startup for $10bn Train 7 LNG Project
By Aboki Forex —
Nigeria LNG plans to start up its $10 billion Train 7 project by the end of 2027, managing director Adeleye Falade said, even as the company remains under a force majeure it imposed in 2022.
Falade spoke to reporters on the sidelines of the Gastech conference in Bangkok. The expansion at Bonny Island will lift NLNG's capacity to 30 million metric tons per year from 22 million tpy.
Delays and the force majeure
The project has faced repeated delays, most recently from the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ukraine war. On top of that, NLNG is still operating under a force majeure declared in 2022 after widespread flooding disrupted its supply.
Falade said the company expects to lift that measure once it reaches a 90% utilization rate. The plant is currently running at 82% to 83%.
"We still have a delta of about 15% that we need to close," he said. "Operationally, we are able to do that, but our biggest constraint is gas supply, and we're working with all the relevant people, including the government, to be able to get more gas to flow into the plant."
He added that the company is focused on meeting its existing contractual obligations to buyers under the force majeure.
Buyer interest picks up
Falade said interest in additional volumes and spot LNG cargoes increased after exports through the Strait of Hormuz were curtailed by the Iran war.
"People are looking at more diversified, reliable sources of supply," he said. "Our priority currently is to continue to make sure that we fulfil our obligations to our existing customers and maximize as much production opportunity as possible that we have."
The Bonny Island plant is majority-owned by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company. Its foreign partners include Shell, TotalEnergies and Eni.
What it means for Nigeria
Train 7 has been billed as one of the country's biggest industrial investments, and its timeline matters for the government's gas ambitions. Any further slippage keeps Nigeria's LNG export capacity flat at a time when buyers are shopping for alternatives to Middle East supply.
Gas supply to the plant remains the binding constraint. Without more gas flowing to Bonny, the 15-point gap to full utilisation is unlikely to close, and the 2022 force majeure will stay in place.