By Onu Okorie

Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas NLNG Limited has set the end of 2027 as its target for commencing operations at its $10 billion Train 7 project on Bonny Island, Rivers State.
The company’s Managing Director, Adeleye Falade, disclosed this while speaking with reporters on the sidelines of the Gastech conference in Bangkok.
According to Falade, Train 7 will increase NLNG’s production capacity from the current 22 million metric tonnes per annum mtpa to 30 million mtpa when completed.
The project has suffered several delays, including setbacks linked to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war.
Falade also disclosed that NLNG remains under a force majeure declared in 2022 following widespread flooding that disrupted gas supplies to the company’s facilities.
He said the company would lift the force majeure once it achieves a 90 per cent utilisation rate, noting that the plant is currently operating at between 82 and 83 per cent capacity.
“We still have a delta of about 15 per cent that we need to close,” Falade said.
He explained that while the company had the operational capacity to increase output, inadequate gas supply remained its major constraint.
“Operationally, we are able to do that, but our biggest constraint is gas supply, and we’re working with all the relevant people, including the government, to be able to get more gas to flow into the plant,” he said.
Falade, however, stressed that NLNG’s immediate priority remained the fulfilment of its existing contractual obligations to customers under the force majeure arrangement.
He said the company had also witnessed increased interest in additional LNG volumes and spot cargoes following disruptions to exports through the Strait of Hormuz amid the Iran conflict.
“People are looking at more diversified, reliable sources of supply,” Falade said.
He added that the company would continue to prioritise existing customers while maximising available production opportunities.
“Our priority currently is to continue to make sure that we fulfil our obligations to our existing customers and maximize as much production opportunity as possible that we have,” he said.
The Train 7 project is a major expansion of NLNG’s Bonny Island complex and is expected to strengthen Nigeria’s position in the global LNG market while increasing the country’s gas monetisation capacity.
NLNG is majority-owned by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), with international energy companies Shell, TotalEnergies and Eni holding the remaining interests.