Nigeria's First FLNG Plant Targets September Investment Decision

Nigeria's first floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) plant is expected to reach a final investment decision in September, according to Julius Rone, promoter shareholder of UTM FLNG Limited. This timeline is ahead of the fourth-quarter target set by his partners, with one commercial agreement still unsigned.

The project has secured financing and will draw gas from the Yoho field in Oil Mining Lease 104, roughly 60 kilometers off the Niger Delta coast. Design capacity is 1.8 million tonnes of LNG per year for export, alongside about 300,000 tonnes a year of liquefied petroleum gas for the Nigerian market.

Rone has described the path to construction as three agreements: the gas supply contract, which was executed in July; the sales and purchase agreement covering the LNG itself; and debt financing, which is fully subscribed with the African Export-Import Bank. The outstanding condition for a decision is the signing of the sales and purchase agreement.