Bayo Akomolafe 
As demand for gas increases in July, six liquefied natural gas vessels with 401,000 metric tonnes of liquefied natural gas from Nigeria are among others jostling to supply 1.01 million tonnes of the product to Britain, Belgium and the Netherlands from this week. Gas supply from Nigeria is 39.7 per cent of the total bulk going to the three European countries. LNG River Orashi with 66,000 tonnes and Isle of Grain Pearl, 156,000 cubic metres are expected to offload their product in Britain. Other vessels from Onne Port are LNG Enugu with 66,000 tonnes; LNG Lagos, 77,000 tonnes; LNG Cross River, 66,000 tonnes; River Nigeria, 63,000 tonnes and LNG Akwa Ibom, 63,000 tonnes.
Also, Gaslog Genoa, 55,090 tonnes; Al Mayeda, 92, 524 tonnes; Al Gharrafa, 74,867 tonnes; Umm Al Amad, 72,748 tonnes; Al Aamriya, 72,748 tonnes; Al Zubarah, 48,027 tonnes; Gaslog Westminster, 55,090 tonnes; Gate Flex Endeavour, 61,094 tonnes; Stena Crystal Sky, 61,094 tonnes and Golar Celsius, 56,503 tonnes. In June 2022, Gaslog with 67,000 tonnes; MARAN Gas Sparta, 80,000 tonnes; LNG Kano, 66,000 tonnes; BW Pavilion Vanda, 71,779 tonnes and Pan Americas, 80,000 tonnes also delivered their cargoes in Spain. According to Enagas data, “increased LNG flows continued to displace Algerian piped gas from Spain’s supply matrix, with volumes through the 11 Bcm/year Medgaz pipeline seen at around two thirds of capacity in May.”
Algerian volumes also stood at (60,189 tonnes) or 7 TWh in May, the lowest monthly volume since pandemic- related travel restrictions in 2020 and comes amid a political issue between the two countries. It would be recalled that on June 8, Algeria announced it was suspending a 20-year treaty of friendship with Spain due to the latter’s stance on the Western Sahara. Spain’s largest gas importer, Naturgy, is in regular contract negotiations with Sonatrach, which holds a four per cent stake in Naturgy.
The 8.4 Bcm contract through to 2030 between the two should not be affected. Spain saw gas demand in May drop 13 per cent year-on-year to 26.9 TWh as demand from industry fell 15 per cent, led by a 36 per cent drop in the refining sector.
This meant the excess volume was largely exported, with 7.8 TWh re-exported from Spain for a second consecutive month, including a record net 5.8 TWh exported to France via pipeline, with the Spain- France link running at around 85 per cent of capacity. Meanwhile, the Group General Manager, National Petroleum Investment Management Services, Bala Wunti, had told investors at the Global Energy Transition Summit that the country had abundant gas resources that could attract significant investors. The general manager stressed that with Nigeria having six quadrillion BTU of energy production annually, making it the second highest in Africa, the country’s energy resources can power the city of New York for the next 120 years. He said: “If we must get into that energy transition, then it means every source of energy matters and in the context of what we are doing, hydro carbon plays a major role and so it is important that we try to connect the market which provides the platform to unlock the energy source.”
