Uchenna Izundu
International Editor
LONDON, Mar. 1 -- Nigeria LNG (NLNG) has hired Foster Wheeler and Chiyoda Corp. to carry out front-end engineering and design work for the SevenPlus project on Bonny Island, which would add two liquefaction trains, each with a capacity of 8.5 million tonnes/year.
Foster Wheeler and Chiyoda will produce a project specification package that will form the basis for an invitation to bid for an engineering, procurement, and construction contract.
Foster Wheeler said the two trains once finished would be the largest in the world. A spokeswoman for Foster Wheeler declined to say when the trains would go on line, but press reports have said this would be 2012.
NLNG recently signed 20-year sales and purchase agreements with units of BG Group, Eni SPA, Total SA, Royal Dutch Shell PLC, and Occidental Petroleum Corp. for offtakes from SevenPlus.
Eni will take 1.375 million tpy of LNG to sell into the US via a terminal at Cameron, La., where it holds regasification capacity of 4.4 million tpy. Total's 1.375 million tpy will be sent to its Sabine Pass and Altamira regasification terminals in the US and Mexico.
Shell Western LNG and Oxy, meanwhile, will receive 2 million tpy and 1 million tpy, respectively, but have not revealed the destination for their supplies. BG has bought 2.25 million tpy.
NLNG has not yet made a final investment decision for the expansion; one possible obstacle is the number of natural gas development projects in Nigeria competing for gas supplies: Equatorial Guinea LNG's Train 2, Brass LNG, OK LNG, and domestic use.
Contact Uchenna Izundu at [email protected].