Nigeria’s LNG export to U.S drops to less than 1%

Nigeria’s export of Liquefied Natural Gas to the United States has dropped to less than one percent, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of NLNG, Babs Omotowa has said. The drop, Business Times learnt, was due to the discovery of shale gas in the U. S. Presently, Nigeria’s liquefied natural gas now finds solace in Asia, with Japan being one of its global biggest markets.

Omotowa said when the Nigeria LNG was founded 15 years ago, US quickly became its major buyer but with the discovery of shale gas, US did not need LNG anymore. Then by 2008 till date, the NLNG’s market share there dropped drastically to less than one per cent. “When we started off in 1999 to 2008, 35 per cent of our sales were to United States, while 65 per cent was to Europe. But in the last 10 years, the US has discovered shale gas and no longer needs LNG. From 2010, we were able to penetrate Japan.

We were the first country to respond to Japan when it had a nuclear accident to provide them LNG. The trade has grown and Japan is one of our highest markets. Overall in Asia, we do about 48 per cent of our sales while 52 per cent to Europe. United States gets less than one per cent. We send only cargoes there once or twice in a year just to fulfill some obligations.” According to him, NLNG is the fourth largest LNG plant in the world, and accounts for seven percent of the global LNG market and has the fourth largest.

With the realties in the industry, Omotowa said the firm would be looking globally to maximise revenue and value for the country. He said the NLNG is playing a significant part in achieving government’s aim to eliminate gas flaring, adding that between 1999 and 2015, it has converted 146 billion standard cubic meters (Bscm) or 5.16 trillion standard cubic feet (Tscf) of associated gas to export products, equivalent to more than 1864 LNG and NGL (natural gas liquids) cargoes, which otherwise would have been flared.