The Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of UTM Offshore Limited, Dr Julius Rone, has reaffirmed the company’s commitment to delivering Nigeria’s first Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG) project through strategic partnerships with top global engineering firms.

Dr Rone disclosed this while speaking at the just-concluded African Energy Week in Cape Town, South Africa, where he highlighted the collaboration with Japan Gas Corporation (JGC), Technip Energies NV, and Kellogg, Brown & Root (KBR) as key to the project’s progress.

According to him, the FLNG project, located offshore Akwa Ibom State, has reached significant milestones through technical and financial partnerships that strengthen Nigeria’s gas value chain.

He said: “I believe that one of the things that we got right from the beginning is to have the best engineering companies in the world. We have been able to get a consortium, Open Sea Technologies, as the team that is developing Nigeria’s first FLNG project.”

Dr Rone explained that achieving the Final Investment Decision (FID) requires ensuring gas supply security and effective integration of all segments of the gas value chain.

“We need to do a lot to cross the borders to get the Final Investment Decision, FID. First and foremost, we need to get hands together, be able to see the clear sign of gas for your project, because supply is essential for the project,” he said.

He further noted that UTM is working closely with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), which holds a joint venture with Seplat Energy, on an identified asset with a 60-40 equity split.

“One thing that is great is that the gas currently being re-injected has been declared as stranded gas. For us, the upstream and the downstream are together. In the midstream, we have been able to look at the example presented by the electrostatic LNG in Mozambique. There are similar electrostatic LNG projects in Malaysia and Kuwait,” he added.

Dr Rone revealed that discussions on project financing are ongoing with the Afreximbank in Cairo, which has pledged to provide both debt and equity support.

“The bank has a mandate to pay for the debt and equity on our behalf. That is going on pretty well because the Afreximbank has a mandate to support African trade and support Africa’s indigenous companies,” he said.

He also outlined the next steps for project execution, saying: “I believe that the project is on a trajectory involving three steps — get land supply agreement, get sales agreement, and then go into the finance and declare a Final Investment Decision, FID. In the next couple of weeks from now, we should sign the land supply agreement. That has been negotiated up to 95 per cent. We are very close to it.”

Meanwhile, during a recent ceremony granting the company a “Licence to Construct” (LTC), Dr Rone expressed gratitude to key stakeholders, including President Bola Tinubu, for their continuous support.

He reiterated UTM Offshore’s commitment to operating with integrity, sustainability, and respect for host communities and the environment, stressing that the project would not only enhance domestic gas utilisation but also strengthen Nigeria’s export potential to Europe and Asia.