• Agreement expected to pave way for FID in Q4 2026
• Project to monetise stranded gas, boost LNG exports and industrialisation
Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja
Nigeria moved a step closer to monetising its vast natural gas resources yesterday as UTM FLNG Ltd signed a 15-year Wet Gas Sale and Purchase Agreement (WGSPA) with the NNPC Ltd/Seplat Energy Producing Nigeria Unlimited (SEPNU) Joint Venture for the supply of 200 million standard cubic feet of gas per day (mmscf/d) to its floating liquefied natural gas project.
The agreement, executed on the sidelines of the Nigeria Oil and Gas (NOG) Energy Week 2026 in Abuja, provides the long-term feed gas certainty required to advance financing for the project and positions it for a Final Investment Decision (FID) in the fourth quarter of 2026.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Ltd, Mr. Bayo Ojulari, described the agreement as a major milestone in the implementation of President Bola Tinubu’s mandate to deepen gas utilisation and advance the Decade of Gas initiative.
“This agreement is more than a commercial transaction; it is a strategic commitment to harness Nigeria’s gas resources for economic growth, industrial development, energy security, and shared prosperity,” Ojulari said.
He noted that besides increasing domestic gas utilisation, the project would create jobs, deepen local content, strengthen Nigeria’s competitiveness in global LNG markets and contribute to lower carbon emissions through the expanded use of natural gas.
Ojulari stressed that the agreement had provided a clear pathway towards achieving FID on the UTM FLNG project before the end of this year.
In his remarks, the Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of UTM Offshore Ltd, Mr. Julius Rone, said the agreement establishes the commercial framework for supplying feed gas to the floating LNG facility and provides the long-term certainty required by investors, lenders and LNG buyers.
“The execution of this agreement establishes the long-term feed gas framework needed to advance project financing, construction and operations. It provides certainty for investors, confidence for lenders and assurance for LNG buyers through a reliable long-term gas supply,” he stated.
Also speaking, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, described the agreement as further evidence of growing investor confidence in Nigeria’s gas sector and the success of reforms being implemented by the federal government.
According to him, the partnership demonstrated the increasing role of indigenous companies and private sector investment in unlocking Nigeria’s gas potential, adding that policy stability, fiscal incentives and regulatory reforms were making the country increasingly attractive to investors.
Ekpo reiterated the federal government’s commitment to providing an enabling environment through improved infrastructure, regulatory clarity and investment incentives to ensure Nigeria fully realises its ambition of becoming a gas-powered economy.
The UTM FLNG project, which commenced in 2021, will source feed gas from OML 104 (Yoho Field), offshore Akwa Ibom State, where it will be processed aboard a floating LNG facility with a production capacity of 1.8 million tonnes per annum (MTPA).
Project development has advanced steadily, with Pre-Front End Engineering Design completed in 2021, FEED completed in October 2023 by JGC and Technip Energies, while KBR serves as Owner’s Engineer.
In 2024, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) granted the project a Licence to Construct (LTC), while the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) approved its Nigerian Content Plan for the engineering, procurement and construction phase.
The shareholding structure of UTM FLNG comprises UTM Offshore Ltd with 72 per cent equity, NNPC Ltd with 20 per cent and the Delta State Government with the remaining 8 per cent. The project is expected to unlock stranded gas resources, expand Nigeria’s LNG exports and support the country’s broader industrialisation and energy transition objectives.
