This will account for 23% of total oil and gas projects starting in Africa within the next five years. Of these 100 projects, petrochemicals will account for the largest individual share with 28 projects, followed by upstream with 25 projects, refining with 24 projects and midstream with 23 projects. Advancing Nigeria’s refining sector is a high priority on the national agenda, as the country is eager to reduce its reliance on imports. The 650,000-barrel per day Lagos 1 project – expected to commence operations in 2022 – could become the largest oil refinery in Africa upon completion. the petrochemicals sector, Brass Fertilizer & Petrochemical Company’s methanol plant is another key project, offering a capacity of 1.7 million tons per annum (mtpa). The project has already been approved and is expecting to begin operations by 2025. Notable upstream projects include the deepwater Bonga North oilfield, as well as the onshore conventional gas Okpokunou Cluster Development. Bonga North, presently in its Front-End Engineering Design stage, is expected to commence operations by 2025. Cluster Development, which is at its feasibility stage, is expected to begin by 2024.
By 2025, midstream projects will account for around 23% of all oil and gas projects in the West African country. Gas-processing will account for around 29% of total midstream developments with the ANOH gas-processing plant representing one of the key projects in the sector, with a capacity of 300 million cubic feet per day. In the LNG sector, the $7 billion Nigeria LNG Expansion Project has been approved and is expected to commence operations in 2025 and will increase the annual production capacity of LNG to more than 30 mtpa from the current 22.5 mtpa. Nigeria expects to end its crude-for-fuel swap deals when its refining capacity increases. Accordingly, the sector is set to be fully revamped and running by 2023.