Golar, NNPC ink MoU to build FLNG facility

NNPC Group chief executive Mele Kyari and Golar chief executive Karl Fredrik Staubo signed the agreement on behalf of their respective companies. No further details were provided from either party, but NNPC said the deal is part of efforts to boost Nigeria’s domestic supplies and exports. 

Africa’s biggest oil producer also holds some of the world’s biggest gas reserves and is seeking investment in the segment.

Midstream operator Golar is of the world’s largest independent owners and operators of marine-based LNG midstream infrastructure that is active in the liquefaction, transport and regasification of natural gas. An FLNG conversion project has been functional in Africa since 2018 and another is due online by the end of the year. In January, the company said it saw its future in West Africa.

Mr Staubo cited the three key cost inputs: source gas; liquefaction costs; and shipping distance to end users. The company feels it can source African gas reserves at around US$1 to US$2 per mmbtu versus current prices, capex costs per tonne are cheaper, and finally, West Africa’s location means it is closer to end users in Europe and Asia, giving the LNG segment there a competitive advantage from the outset.

Most notably, West Africa is the site of BP’s Greater Tortue Ahmeyim project which will utilise an FLNG moored near shore on the Mauritania and Senegal maritime border.

Gas from an ultra-deepwater subsea system will be fed to a mid-water FPSO, which will process the gas before transferring it to an FLNG facility nearby.