TotalEnergies has decided to invest in the development of the Ima gas field offshore Nigeria to increase supply for the expanding Nigeria LNG export plant, the French supermajor said on Wednesday.
As operator and holder of a 40% interest in the Ima gas field, TotalEnergies and its local partner AMNI, owning the remaining 60%, have taken the final investment decision (FID) for the development of the field straddling the OML 112 and 117 offshore licenses in Nigeria.
The Ima gas field, which lies in shallow waters close to Bonny Island, will be developed with a single platform, connected through a 22-km pipeline to the Nigeria LNG plant, in which TotalEnergies holds a 15% stake.
Production start-up is expected in 2028, with a plateau of 350 million cubic feet per day, or more than 60,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd).
When the Ima field comes on stream, it will supply about one-third of the gas required for the ongoing Nigeria LNG Train 7 expansion project, which will increase the liquefaction plant capacity from 22 million tons per annum (Mtpa) to 30 Mtpa, TotalEnergies said.
The Ima gas project is a low-cost and low-emissions development, with a simplified platform design, electric power supply from shore, no flaring, and permanent methane detection and monitoring, according to the supermajor.
“This new project will contribute significantly to Nigeria LNG gas supply and create lasting value for its partners and for Nigeria,” said Nicolas Terraz, President, Exploration & Production at TotalEnergies.
In the wake of the Iran war and the Strait of Hormuz disruption, integrated and upstream companies are increasingly looking to develop gas resources and LNG export capabilities in regions not depending on the chokepoints in the Middle East.
U.S. supermajor Chevron, for example, is looking to expand its natural gas business with opportunities in Argentina, the Mediterranean, Africa, and Australia, as it aims to offer diversified LNG supply to its customers.
“What we’re seeing from this crisis is that it just reinforces the need for diversity — diversity of supply and diversity of different contracting structures,” Freeman Shaheen, President of Global Gas at Chevron, told Reuters last week.
By Michael Kern for Oilprice.com
