Nigeria’s exports of Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) dropped by 20% last week, according to data from Bloomberg ship-tracking.
The hit on the country’s LNG exports is due to persistent vandalism and sabotage of pipelines in the Niger Delta region.
The Nigeria LNG Ltd. told Bloomberg that the sabotage and vandalism has curtailed gas supplies to its plant and this is affecting scheduled shipments.
“The loss of facilities due to vandalism and sabotage impacts feed-gas supplies to NLNG and delivery timelines,” Sophia Horsfall, NLNG’s General Manager for external relations and sustainable development, told the international news service.
- It was noted that shipments planned for exports next month may be delayed for at least 10 days due to the substantial loss to pipeline vandalism.
- Nigeria’s gas exports have faced disruptions due to security issues in the Niger Delta region, although shipments from the NLNG complex saw a rebound in 2024.
- With the persistent sabotage of oil and gas installations, Nigeria is losing its recent gains in production and supplies, and its unable to meet demands.
In 2022, NLNG declared ‘force majeure’, that is, it requested to be released from its contractual obligations as it could not guarantee deliveries due to unforeseen circumstances beyond its control.
The company “continues to engage its feed gas suppliers and relevant government security agencies for improved security regime for upstream production and transmission,” Horsfall said further.
Meanwhile, the latest export setback coincides with soaring European demand for LNG, driven by the loss of Russian piped gas and depleting reserves in Europe.
Persistent crude oil theft despite reported triumph by NNPCL
Pipeline vandalism and oil theft continue unabated in the Niger Delta region despite reported triumphant gains by the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited in its war against crude oil theft.
- The national oil company reported the discovery of thousands of illegal refineries and pipeline connections in 2024. This year, it has reported the discovery of over 300 illegal refineries and about 100 illegal pipeline connections.
- The NNPCL claims to be winning the war on oil theft but the menace continues to cost Nigeria significant loss in revenue.
President Bola Tinubu targets an increase in oil production from the current daily average of below 1.5 million barrels per day to 2.06 million bpd. However, experts say this may not be achieved if the insecurity in the oil-rich Niger Delta persists.
