CERAWEEK-Nigeria sees more interest from LNG buyers for cargoes, NNPC says

By Curtis Williams

HOUSTON, March 25 (Reuters) - Nigeria is seeing stronger demand for its liquefied natural gas cargoes as energy disruptions from the war in the Middle East have opened commercial opportunities for the West African producer, a senior Nigerian National Petroleum Company executive said on Wednesday at the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston.

Buyers are increasingly looking to Nigeria because of its proximity to key consuming nations and the scale of its gas reserves, said NNPC Executive Vice President Olalekan Ogunleye.

Nigeria LNG (NLNG), in which NNPC is the largest shareholder, can export up to 22 million metric tons per year and is building a seventh production train scheduled for completion in 2027.

“We are right in the middle of the market. We are 10 sailing days from Europe, close to the Atlantic Basin and close to Asia,” Ogunleye said. “We see commercial opportunities on top of the fact that we have the most gas reserves in Africa.”

Ogunleye said demand for natural gas has proven resilient, adding that the current geopolitical tensions would not derail its growth. He said NNPC has started talks on adding two new LNG trains and is also pursuing a 12 million metric tons per annum (mtpa) LNG project alongside gas‑based industrial hubs to tap more than 200 trillion cubic feet of reserves in Nigeria.

Martin Houston, a longtime LNG developer and consultant, said the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran has heightened the need for buyers to diversify supply risk. He said African and South American countries with gas already discovered but without a current market could benefit from rising interest in new LNG supply, including floating LNG options.