NNPC Announces Commencement of LNG Supply to Japan, China

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) yesterday said it had commenced shipment of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) cargoes to Japan and China on Delivered Ex-Ship (DES) basis.

The national oil firm said that this was in line with its strategic vision to be a dynamic and reliable global energy supplier of choice, according to a statement by the Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Olufemi Soneye.

NNPC said that it achieved the milestone through the collaboration of two of its downstream subsidiaries, the NNPC LNG Ltd and NNPC Shipping Ltd – which delivered its first DES LNG cargo from the 174,000m³ LNG vessel Grazyna Gesicka at Futtsu, Japan, on  June 27, 2024.

Since then, the oil company stated that it had expanded its footprint to China with the delivery of one LNG cargo on DES basis.

“Delivered Ex-Ship (DES) is an international commercial term that requires the seller to deliver the products/goods at a specific port. The seller takes responsibility for the shipping and insurance for the products/goods until they get to the specified port of delivery.

“ It requires expertise and a higher level of efficiency to execute than the Free on Board (FOB) system,” the statement added.

NNPC stated that it had been involved in LNG trading since 2021 with its first LNG cargo sale in November of that year. It has since traded over 20 cargoes into the European and Asian markets on FOB basis, it added.

Speaking on the development, the Executive President, Downstream, Mr. Dapo Segun, said: “The DES system, apart from being more financially rewarding, allows NNPC Ltd inroads into the downstream segment of the LNG sector and positions it to capture more market shares while building in-house capacity and ensuring that global customers are familiar with the NNPC Ltd brand”.

The collaboration between NNPC LNG and NNPC Shipping Ltd in executing the LNG supplies on DES basis, the statement said, has strengthened the latter’s position as a world class shipping provider in the LNG sector, the company added.

“NNPC Shipping intends to build a shipping portfolio (including owned vessels) so that we can provide our sister company and other clients all the shipping flexibilities they need”, Managing Director of NNPC Shipping, Panos Gliatis, explained.

NNPC LNG, in collaboration with NNPC Shipping Ltd, is scheduled to deliver at least two more LNG cargoes to the Asian market on DES basis by November, while many more orders are expected before the end of year, the statement stressed.