By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Nov. 6 -- Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. (NNPC), ChevronTexaco Corp., ConocoPhillips subsidiary Phillips Oil Co. (Nigeria) Ltd., and Italy's ENI SPA have formed a joint venture—Brass LNG Ltd. JV—to construct a new LNG liquefaction plant in Nigeria's central Niger Delta. The group will build the facility offshore near the Brass Terminal operated by Nigerian Agip Oil Co. (NAOC), in water sufficiently deep to accommodate LNG carriers (OGJ Online, Sept.7, 2001).
Following the successful completion of earlier feasibility studies, Brass LNG reported Oct. 30 that it had signed a Heads of Agreement to conduct front-end engineering and design work for two trains, each capable of producing 5 million tonnes/year of LNG.
Natural gas for the facility will come from substantial gas reserves within oil and gas fields operated by existing NAOC and ChevronTexaco joint ventures.
"We are extremely pleased to have reached this stage of the Brass LNG project," said NNPC's Group Managing Director J.E. Gaius-Obaseki. "This will be a world-class LNG facility and an important and strategic opportunity for the coventurers to reduce gas flaring in Nigeria. Furthermore, it will be an additional opportunity for Nigeria to monetize part of its vast natural gas reserves."
Executives from the other project partners said their participation also enables them to strengthen their long-term relationship with NNPC and with the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
FEED studies are scheduled for completion in 2004, with start-up operations planned for yearend 2008. Meanwhile Brass LNG will be developing markets, with the primary market for the first train's output to be the US, where average natural gas sales volumes of 700 MMscfd are anticipated.
