GLNG: Nigerian LNG exports to Europe could double in long term

Matthew Baldwin, the European Commission’s deputy director-general for energy, has said he believes Nigeria has the potential to see natural gas exports to Europe more than double in the long term.

In an exclusive interview with Premium Times last week, Baldwin noted that Nigeria accounted for 14% of the LNG now being delivered to the European Union. The West African country has enough gas to push that figure up to more than 30% in the long run, he said, while also stressing that he did not have the authority to make any supply commitments.

“I do not want to put a number on that ... partly because I am not the negotiator for the gas contracts. That is for the companies to look at ... but companies are interested in bringing more LNG from Nigeria, and if you look at the total potential LNG reserves in Nigeria, it could go all the way from 14% to something in the 30s. So this is a huge potential that we see here in Nigeria as a partner,” he told Premium Times.

Baldwin also serves as head of the EC’s Energy Platform Task Force (EPTF), which was established earlier this year to support efforts to reduce the bloc’s dependence on Russian oil and gas supplies. He spoke with the newspaper during a fact-finding mission in Nigeria, noting that the West African country was the first place he had visited as head of EPTF.