UTM Offshore has finalized a gas sales agreement with Seplat Energy and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company for the Yoho floating LNG plan, a move that advances Nigeria’s push to monetise gas, cut flaring and build local industrial capacity toward an expected 2030 start of shipments.
UTM’s deal secures supply from the deepwater Yoho field and pushes the indigenous FLNG plan closer to a final investment decision, with engineering and pre-construction already wrapped up. The facility is designed to handle about 176 million cubic feet per day when built, creating a domestic-led path to liquefied natural gas production that has been years in the making. That processing capacity positions the project to serve both export markets and Nigeria’s internal energy needs without relying solely on foreign operators.
With the gas sales agreement signed, UTM is focusing on a sale and purchase contract and the steps that will clear the way for an FID, targeting the first LNG shipments by 2030. Financial structuring for the development has already been organised, including debt support from Afreximbank and equity commitments from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company alongside the Delta State Government. Those funding pieces aim to de-risk the construction phase and signal serious backing for a domestically led energy infrastructure program.
Contractors JGC Holdings and Technip Energies are examining the engineering, procurement, construction, installation and commissioning package, and their assessments are expected to firm up technical and commercial terms ahead of execution. Their involvement brings international engineering expertise while keeping delivery aligned with the project’s local leadership objectives. If procurement and contracting clear the usual milestones, ramping into construction and commissioning activity will follow on a defined timeline tied to the FID.
AEC executive chairman NJ Ayuk said: “The signing of this GSA demonstrates what is possible when indigenous companies, national institutions and private investors work together toward a shared vision.
“UTM FLNG is more than an LNG project; it is a blueprint for how Africa can commercialise its gas resources through African leadership, create long-term economic value and strengthen energy security while supplying cleaner energy to both domestic and international markets.”
The Yoho development is part of Nigeria’s Decade of Gas Initiative, a policy effort that aims to pivot the economy toward gas by 2030 and to end routine flaring while expanding access to power and cleaner fuels. That programme is built around monetising Nigeria’s roughly 200 trillion cubic feet of proven gas reserves and converting them into jobs, industrial feedstock and household energy. Structuring projects like Yoho to feed both export and domestic markets helps stabilise revenue streams while addressing local energy shortfalls.
Beyond LNG exports, the Yoho FLNG plan is structured to deliver roughly 300,000 tonnes of liquefied petroleum gas annually to the Nigerian market, which should ease reliance on imported LPG and support cooking and industrial needs across the country. UTM also secured a licence to construct in September 2024, clearing a key regulatory hurdle as the project moves from planning to execution. That licence, combined with financing commitments and the gas sales agreement, frames Yoho as a flagship effort for indigenous capacity in Nigeria’s gas economy.
