A floating LNG platform. (Web image)
Nigeria is targeting 16.2 million tonnes of LNG exports in 2023, according to a report by Independent Commodity Intelligence Services (ICIS). The report notes that Nigeria’s LNG exports fell 15 percent in 2022 compared with 2021. “We forecast Nigerian exports will rise slightly to 16.2 million tonnes, but still below the 17.1 million tonnes exported in 2021,” it said.
ICIS also highlighted that the anticipated resurgence of LNG imports from Africa in 2022 did not materialise, largely because the war in Ukraine drove up LNG prices. Consequently, the floating power plants in Senegal and Mozambique are unlikely to switch to gas‑fired generation in the short term. “Ghana, Senegal and Mozambique were all expected to receive their first cargoes to support power generation, but we no longer consider this viable in any noteworthy volume in the short‑term,” the report stated.
In Ghana, the floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) that was briefly stationed at the Tema terminal—the Vasant—is now slated to become the new floating terminal for Turkey. The originally designated FSRU, the Torman II, remains in the Singapore shipyards.
The report further indicates that the Nigerian government expects its gas‑liquefaction plants to operate at full capacity throughout 2023. It adds that Angola’s 5.4 mtpa Soyo plant, after a weak second half of 2022, finished the year strongly, and ICIS forecasts a modest recovery of about 0.4 million tonnes to roughly 3.8 million tonnes in 2023. Algeria, which saw a 1.5 million‑tonne drop in LNG exports in 2022, is projected by ICIS to rebound by around 0.8 million tonnes, reaching 11 million tonnes in 2023.
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