US Firm To Build $100m Gas Processing Plant In Bayelsa, Target 12-Month Completion

The agreement was sealed on Wednesday at the conclusion of the inaugural two-day US-Nigeria Governors Government-to-Business (G2B) Forum on Energy, Mining and Infrastructure held at Sweet Water Country Club, Sugar Land, Texas.

The project, according to a statement by the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Douye Diri, Daniel Alabrah, is expected to commence with the gathering and commercialisation of gas currently being flared in the state.

The initial phase will supply gas to power Bayelsa’s Independent Power Plant and emerging industrial clusters, while reducing environmental pollution associated with gas flaring.

This will be followed by an integrated gas monetisation and development plan aimed at harnessing the state’s gas reserves.

Speaking after a closed-door meeting with Diri, Fulcrum LNG Chief Executive Officer, Jesus Bronchalo, said the governor’s presentation at the business roundtable attracted the company’s interest in the proposed partnership.

Bronchalo said the company would commence a comprehensive field study of gas flare sites across Bayelsa to determine the appropriate technology and infrastructure required for the project.

He disclosed that Fulcrum was executing a similar project in Guyana valued at about $3 billion, adding that the scale of investment required in Bayelsa would be determined after the feasibility study.

According to him, the proposed investment could exceed the scale of the company’s South American operations.

“From FID to commissioning will take about 12 months,” Bronchalo said.

He explained that the company would first establish the locations of the flare sites and identify the reasons for the continued flaring before determining the most viable approach to gathering and processing the gas.

“First, we need to understand the problem on the ground – where those facilities are and why gas is being flared. We will come to Bayelsa to understand the magnitude,” he said.

Bronchalo noted that some flare sites might be too remote or economically unviable for gas gathering, stressing that the company would assess whether the problem resulted from inadequate transportation infrastructure or insufficient reinjection capacity.

He also disclosed that Fulcrum would provide 100 per cent of the investment capital, adding that the state government would only contribute capital if it wished to acquire an equity stake in the project.

Responding, Diri described the partnership as a win-win arrangement and assured the company of his administration’s commitment to ensuring its immediate commencement.

The governor, who noted that his administration had about 15 months remaining in office, said the project was important to the state’s environmental protection and industrialisation objectives.

“Our interest is how this project will reduce the effects of environmental pollution on our people and boost our industrialisationdrive,” he said.

Earlier, during his presentation at the business roundtable, Diri said Bayelsa accounted for an estimated 15 to 20 per cent of Nigeria’s proven gas reserves and supplied about 60 per cent of the gas utilised by the Nigeria LNG Limited in Bonny, Rivers State.

He also highlighted the state’s geographical and maritime advantages, noting that Bayelsa had Nigeria’s longest Atlantic coastline, estimated at 203 kilometres, with direct access to the Gulf of Guinea.