Aerial view of a luxury oil tanker with storage tanks, highlighting Africa’s industrial maritime sector.
Nigeria’s oil regulator has licensed UTM Offshore Limited to operate the country’s first floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant, designed to capture flared gas from ExxonMobil’s Yoho field in the country’s oil-rich Niger Delta region. The plant, with a capacity of 2.8 million tons per annum (MTPA), will address the country’s significant gas flaring problem, which results in an annual revenue loss of over $1 billion. The approval marks a major step in tapping Nigeria’s abundant gas reserves which exceed 209 trillion cubic feet. Engineering work is expected to finish by 2028, with production beginning in early 2029. The facility will supply 500,000 metric tons of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to the domestic market, while the LNG will be exported. The project has received $2.1 billion in financing from Afreximbank for its first phase, with an additional $3 billion committed for the second phase.
SOURCE: REUTERS