Heirs Energies Signs Gas Offtake Deals Worth 18 Million Cubic Feet Per Day
Nigerian independent Heirs Energies has signed agreements with five companies for the offtake of natural gas from its Agbada and Elelenwa fields, located in the company’s operated Oil Mining Lease 17, onshore Eastern Nigeria. The total volume of offtake is around 18 million standard cubic feet per day from OML 17, which is operated by Heirs on behalf of the NNPC/Heirs Energies Joint Venture.
Two of the offtakers, AUT Energy and Twems Energies, both involved in CNG development, are taking gas under the auspices of the Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialisation Programme, an initiative superintended by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission. They were awarded “Permits to Access Flare Gas Issuance,” an instrument which conferred on them the rights to approach Heirs to offtake gas.
The three other companies are offtaking gas as willing buyer-willing seller customers of Heirs Energies/NNPC JV, outside the NUPRC NGFCP framework. They include PCC Development Limited, a company with strong Chinese backing, Africa Gas and Transportation Company, and Gas and Power Infrastructure Development Company. These companies are involved in power generation, LNG and CNG, computing and industrial conversion of gas to multiple products such as methanol-to-olefins used in petrochemicals including urea, propylene, ethylene and plastics, as well as modular refining.
Heirs says it expects the three companies to have commissioned the plants to offtake the gas from its facilities by the third quarter of 2026. The signing ceremony on December 12 was symbolic as terms of agreement had been reached in August. The Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialisation Programme, which kicked off under the then Department of Petroleum Resources in 2016, was aimed at providing a commercial framework for third-party investors to capture and commercialize associated gas otherwise flared during oil production.
The contractual framework recognizes the non-static nature of flare volumes, addressing variability due to force majeure, reduced flaring or improved gas utilization without requiring new contracts. The role of regulator NUPRC remains central throughout the life of projects executed by AUT Energy and Twems Energies. Any material changes to flare availability, utilization plans or execution timelines are managed in alignment with NUPRC oversight.
A NUPRC representative emphasized that the primary objective is to stop routine flaring, stating that reducing emissions is the core goal with other benefits such as value creation, job opportunities, energy generation and alternative fuel provision being additional advantages. Apart from Heirs Energies, companies in JV partnership with NNPC participating in the NGFCP and Non-NGFCP programmes include Renaissance Africa, Chevron Nigeria Limited and Seplat Energies. Twenty companies have signed up to offtake gas from these operators, with Heirs Energies appearing to have led the way.
Source: africaoilgasreport.com
