The global Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG) market is growing and Africa is at the center of the current boom, says research firm Wood Mackenzie.
In 2022, 8.5 million tons per annum (mmtpa) of FLNG developments were sanctioned globally, and with the presence of favourable economic and geopolitical conditions, up to 20 mmtpa of new capacity is set to be launched in the next two years.
Africa is largely responsible for this growth.
The continent has seen a surge in new and planned projects as countries pursue innovative solutions for monetizing offshore gas. FLNG enables African resource-rich countries to process gas for both domestic and export use within high-risk environments, and as such, a wave of new developments have kicked off.
Fraser Carson, Senior Gas Research Analyst at Wood Mackenzie, explains that, “FLNG is removed from these above-ground risks such as armed insurgency and infrastructure sabotage. It offers producers a flexible solution to existing challenges.”
Several countries are leading Africa’s FLNG endeavors. These include existing facilities in Cameroon; two FLNG projects launched by Eni and Perenco in Congo and Gabon in 2022; as well as upcoming facilities in Nigeria, Mozambique and more.
To date 12.5 mmtpa of FLNG capacity are under construction and by 2026 approximately 25 mmtpa of capacity will be operational, Carson continued.
He added that, “With international oil companies, upstream producers and midstream specialists all moving projects towards final investment decisions,” the global FLNG capacity has the potential to further increase by 2030.
Further Africa
