Nigerian gas company signs US$1.6bn deal for six LNG carriers

Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Company (NLNG) has signed agreements with South Korea’s Samsung Heavy Industries and Hyundai to acquire six LNG carrier ships, two sources close to the deal said. France’s BNP Paribas and Nigeria’s GT Bank are brokering a US$1.6 billion loan to help fund acquisition of the vessels and expect to sign the financing documents this week, a banking source said, according to a Reuters report carried by Hellenic Shipping News. Samsung and Hyundai could not be reached immediately for comment, while a spokeswoman for BNP Paribas said it does not normally comment on transactions with clients. NLNG, which is majority owned jointly by Nigeria’s state oil company NNPC and Royal Dutch Shell, said last year it would seek international loans to expand the operations of its shipping subsidiary Bonny Gas Transport Limited, which currently has 24 LNG ships. It has long-term supply contracts with buyers in Italy, Spain, Turkey, Portugal and France and also sells on the spot market. NLNG has a capacity to produce 22 million tons of liquefied gas a year. It obtains its gas supply from the upstream oil companies and liquefies it for export.