Sub-Saharan Africa LNG capacity to surge over next decade – Fitch

The Liquefied Natural Gas production capacity in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is expected to be more than double over a ten- year forecast period, according to a Fitch Report recently released.

The main drivers of the LNG demand growth are set to be Asian emerging markets.

Available 2017 data indicates that Asian buyers already accounted for 38% of LNG exports from SSA producers at the time, only Angola, Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea.

“We forecast this trend to accentuate as Asian markets increasingly find themselves in the driving seat of global LNG demand. Looking ahead, this trend is also illustrated by the pre-eminence of Asian buyers in GSPAs for some LNG projects in Sub-Saharan Africa, such as Anadarko’s Mozambique onshore project, scheduled for FID next year,” the report said.

According to the report, the advantages of Floating LNG (FLNG) facilities are well suited to the monetisation of under-developed gas resources in sub-Saharan Africa and represent an increasingly attractive option that allows operators to fast-track resources to market.

“We believe that SSA will increasingly benefit from its strategic location vis-a-vis energy-hungry Asian markets driving the bulk of global LNG demand growth,” it said.

Source: Energy Mix