Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited said its Bonny facility is still active despite the force majeure it declared two days earlier on declared on October 18.
According to a statement released by NLNG’s general manager, of external relations and sustainable development, Andy Odeh, the company clarified that although a force majeure had been declared, the Bonny plant is still active and operational.
Mr Andy Odeh stated the Company’s plant is in operation though at a limited capacity, due to reduced gas supply from some of its upstream gas suppliers.
“None of NLNG’s assets on Bonny Island or in any of its host communities are impacted by the flood. The force majeure is a consequence of a similar notice by upstream gas suppliers due to the impact of flood in their production facilities. NLNG is working with all critical stakeholders on mitigating the impact on product deliveries. NLNG continues to monitor the situation with upstream gas suppliers and is evaluating the impact of the flood on its business.”
Possible effects of the force majeure
Following the force majeure declared by NLNG on October 18, energy industry stakeholders believe that Nigeria’s cash crunch could become worse and gas supplies to Europe would be impacted, as EU countries struggle to replace Russian exports due to the invasion of Ukraine since February 2022.
- Already, Portugal’s Galp Energia has said that it had received a notice from NLNG, its main natural gas supplier, about the force majeure but, no information was provided to support an assessment of potential impacts.
- Nairametrics had earlier reported that Nigeria could make more money from spare volumes of liquefied natural gas (LNG). This is because China has told its state-owned natural gas importers like Sinopec and China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) to halt LNG sales to Europe, as it wants to protect its domestic gas supplies ahead of the winter season.
- Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) experts recently told Nairametrics that Nigerians could pay as much as N12,000 for a 12.5kg cylinder of LPG before the end of the year. This is due to supply disruptions at NLNG as well as the flooding which currently affects up to 33 states.
What you should know
Oil and gas-producing areas in the Niger delta are currently flooded, leaving oil and gas facilities in those areas at severe risk of being shut down.
- The gas-rich Omoku community in Rivers state has reportedly been flooded for days, thereby hampering gas supplies to NLNG.
- Authorities have said that oil and gas-rich Niger Delta states – Rivers, Delta, Cross River, and Bayelsa states remain at risk of flooding until the end of November.
