Funding secured for Nigeria’s ANOH gas processing plant

ANOH Gas Processing Co. Ltd. (AGPC)—a 50-50 incorporated joint venture of independent Seplat Petroleum Development Co. PLC (Seplat) and state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. (NNPC) subsidiary Nigerian Gas Co. (NGC)—has secured necessary financing to complete construction of its previously proposed 300-MMcfd gas plant to process future wet gas production from unitized Assa North-Ohaji South (ANOH) onshore gas and condensate field, which straddles Seplat-operated oil mining lease (OML) 53 and Shell Petroleum Development Co. (SPDC)-operated OML 21 in the northeastern Niger Delta of Imo State, Nigeria (OGJ Online, Aug. 15, 2018).

Following a combined equity investment of $420 million previously injected by shareholders Seplat and NGC between 2019-20, AGPC raised $260 million in debt funding in early February 2021 from a consortium of seven banks to fully fund completion of the ANOH gas plant, Seplat said.

The debt-funding facility for the project—which includes an accordion provision allowing for an additional $60 million at the time of completion to fund an equity rebalancing payment, if necessary—was provided by the following banks:

Stanbic IBTC Bank PLC (advisor).
United Bank for Africa PLC.
Zenith Bank PLC.
FirstRand Bank Ltd. (London branch)-RMB Nigeria Ltd.
Mauritius Commercial Bank Ltd.
Union Bank of Nigeria PLC.
FCMB Capital Markets Ltd.

AGPC received excess funding commitments of more than $450 million for the ANOH plant, which became unnecessary following execution of an optimization program that recently lowered total project cost to $650 million—including financing costs and taxes—from the originally estimated $700-million price tag, according to Seplat.

Project overview

Identified as one of the federal government’s Seven Critical Gas Development Projects—intended to improve and expand Nigeria’s gas production and related infrastructure—AGPC’s ANOH gas processing plant will be built on an 87-hectare plot on OML 53, which hosts currently producing Jisike and Ohaji South fields, as well as still undeveloped Owu field, according to Seplat’s 2019 annual report to investors.

The gas plant will process 300 MMcfd of about 600 MMcfd of gas that ANOH upstream development operator SPDC will produce from four wells in OML 21’s H1000 reservoir and two wells in OML 53’s H4000 reservoir. SPDC will treat the remaining 300 MMcfd of production at its own gas processing plant, SPDC said in a Feb. 13, 2019 release.

According to the latest information available from Seplat, Phase 1 of the ANOH gas plant—which has been designed and accommodated space for future expansions—will include the following:

Two 150-MMcfd Joule-Thompson trains with 50% turndown capacity, automated operations.
A 22,500-b/d two-train condensate handling plant.
A 1,200-b/d LPG recovery unit.
Two 100,000-bbl condensate storage tanks.
A 50,000-bbl produced water tank.
A 200-bbl diesel tank.
Eight 1,500-bbl LPG storage bullets.

AGPC will distribute processed volumes from the ANOH gas plant via a planned 23-km spur line to be built by NGC that connects the plant to the government-owned and funded 130-km, 48-in. Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben (O83) gas export pipeline network linking eastern Niger Delta gas reserves to Nigeria’s main demand centers. AGPC will transport LPG volumes via truck to be sold into the domestic market, while condensate will be exported via existing trunk lines to the Bonny and Brass terminals for sale as crude into the international market.

Project status

AGPC’s ANOH gas plant development is progressing on budget, according to Seplat reports and presentations. Alongside completing site clearing activities in May 2019 following its March 2019 final investment decision on the project, AGPC has let contracts for engineering, procurement, and construction of gas processing modules to Global Process Systems LLC, as well as contract for specialist rotating equipment to a subsidiary of Baker Hughes Co.

AGPC also awarded a contract to International Engineering Services Ltd. for delivery of integration detailed engineering design, as well as contracts to Zerock Construction Nigeria Ltd. and Kenno-Mena Ltd. for civil foundation works, plant roads, and drainage, Seplat said.

Phase 1 of the ANOH gas plant and upstream development is currently scheduled to be completed during fourth-quarter 2021.