Middle East & Africa: Production

Gas production in West African countries such as Angola and Nigeria will remain under pressure in the coming months, which will limit their flexibility to boost LNG exports.

Angola relies heavily on associated gas from oil production to produce LNG. The country is keen to develop its offshore oil reserves in an environmentally sustainable manner and wants to eliminate gas flaring. As a result, it intends to maximise the use of associated gas to produce LNG. Consequently, almost all the gas Angola uses to produce LNG is sourced from blocks 15, 17 and 18, which chiefly produce oil and are operated by ExxonMobil, Total and BP respectively. A subsea pipeline is being commissioned to connect the Chevron-operated blocks 0 and 14 to the LNG export plant, which will provide more associated gas. There are also plans to use associated gas from Block 31 in the coming months. However, Angola LNG’s excessive reliance on associated gas makes it susceptible to changes in oil prices. (see Angola LNG susceptible to oil prices, 7 July 2016).