Oil producer Nigerian National Petroleum Corp (NNPC) has struck deals to ship out its first LNG spot cargoes.
TradeWinds understands two 174,000-cbm vessels have been chartered to head to Asia with gas from Nigeria LNG (NLNG) under a new allocation to NNPC, better known as a tanker charterer.
The first spot cargo will leave in the second half of May for India, while a cargo bound for China will follow soon afterwards.
The buyers are not known, but there is optionality around the sales, a shipping source said.
The cargoes were confirmed last week.
NNPC, Africa’s largest energy company, is assigning the project to subsidiaries NNPC Shipping & Logistics and NNPC Trading.
The formerly state-controlled group has a 49% stake in NLNG.
The source explained that NNPC is trying to further develop its trading and shipping capabilities.
NNPC declined to comment.
Spot rates for MEGI/XDF LNG carriers were quoted at $50,000 per day this week, down 7% over the past seven days.
Shipowner and charterer
NNPC is the owner of two floating production offloading and storage vessels and a tug.
In recent months, the group has been shipping crude to the country’s huge new Dangote refinery near Lagos.
NNPC has a 20% stake in Dangote Oil Refining Company, controlled by tycoon Aliko Dangote.
In 2023, Norway’s Golar LNG said it had signed a fresh head of terms with NNPC, agreeing on a framework for the joint development of specific gas fields as floating LNG projects.
NLNG’s technical ship management arm NLNG Ship Management Ltd handles a fleet of 23 LNG carriers, chartered to NLNG, and provides technical management to 11 — comprising seven steam turbine vessels and four dual-fuel diesel-electric ships.
