AfrOil: NLNG urged to open pipelines to gas from other suppliers

Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Timipre Sylva has asked shareholders in Nigeria LNG (NLNG) to let other natural gas producers access their pipelines so that additional feedstock can be delivered to the consortium’s plant on Bonny Island.

Speaking during a meeting with Stefano De Leo, the new Italian ambassador to Abuja, on April 4, Sylva noted that the NLNG plant was currently operating at only around 70% of its installed capacity because it was not receiving enough gas. If the NLNG group were to open up its joint pipeline network to other producers, he said, the facility would have enough feedstock to supply more gas to domestic and foreign buyers.

He went on to say that it was in the interests of both Nigeria and Italy to resolve the dispute. Increasing NLNG’s capacity utilisation will directly benefit the EU by allowing the consortium to boost shipments of LNG to Europe, which is seeking new sources of fuel, he explained.