By Patience Chat Moses
Promoters of Nigeria’s first Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG) facility, UTM Offshore Limited, have urged the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) to invest equity in the project and to accelerate key approvals that would fast-track the project’s development.
According to a statement issued from the Corporate Communication office at NCDMB, the request was tendered at the Nigerian Content Tower in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State when the Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe hosted the management of UTM Offshore Limited led by the Group Managing Director, Mr. Julius Rone.
In the statement, Rone revealed that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and the Delta State Government, were already partners on the project given its importance to Nigeria’s energy security.
The FLNG project which is expected to be completed by 2028 will contribute about four hundred and fifty thousand tonnes of LPG, otherwise known as cooking gas per annum to the domestic market.
This will assuage Nigeria’s average demand of about 1.5 million tonnes of LPG per annum and reduce the dependence on the importation of LPG.
Giving a brief on the company, the Group Managing Director stated that UTM is a 100 per cent indigenous company, and the floating LNG project will optimize Nigeria’s stranded gas offshore, enhance energy transition, promote domestic consumption of cooking gas, and aid technology transfer, among other benefits.
Rone further described the FLNG project as another confirmation of the capability of Nigerians to develop projects of world-class standards. He announced that roadshows were being planned for Uyo and Abuja in April 2024, to showcase the Nigerian Content opportunities in the project and to engender increased participation of Nigerian oil and gas services companies.
Providing further details about the project, the Technical Manager of the FLNG, Engr. George Amara stated that the project’s target total production is 2.72 million tonnes per annum (MTPA), with LNG accounting for 1.81 MTPA, LPG taking up 0.45 MTPA, and condensate making up 0.25 MTPA.
Engr. George commended NCDMB for approving key stages of the development, including Pre-Front-End Engineering Design (Pre-FEED), the Pre-FEED Nigerian Content Development (NCD) Plan, and the Front-End-Engineering Design (FEED) NCD Plan. Other accomplishments include the Engineering Procurement Construction NCD Plan, the training of three indigenous engineers for Pre-FEED Nigerian Content Development, and the engagement of 13 Nigerian engineers for the FEED NCD scope as well as the engagement of Nigerian engineering firms for different aspects of the project.
He affirmed that UTM FLNG would utilize Nigerian fabrication yards for in-country activities, adding that an inspection of prospective yards in Lagos and Calabar had been completed.
Amara hinted that the project was going into the Engineering, Procurement, Construction, Installation & Commissioning (EPCIC) stage, which is very critical, hence the need to update the NCDMB and request speedy approval for the EPC NCD Plan.
Speaking in response to the request for equity investment, the Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe promised to consider the application with the Board’s management and to escalate the proposal to the Board’s Governing Council for further consideration.
Ogbe urged the company’s Management to “Be proactive” assuring that the Board would do all that is within its powers to assist the company and others showing resourcefulness.William Emmanuel Ukpoju