Portugal: We may face gas shortage if Nigeria fails to deliver expected gas volumes

The government of Portugal says it could face gas supply challenges this winter, if Nigeria does not deliver all the liquefied natural gas (LNG) volumes due to its country. 

Duarte Cordeiro, the country’s environment and energy minister, said this on Monday at a conference in Lisbon hosted by CNN Portugal.

Asked whether with many countries now looking for alternatives to Russian gas there was a chance that Nigeria might not meet its LNG supply volumes, he said while the government had given Lisbon assurances that it would do so, “there is a risk of it not complying”.

“From one day to another, we may have a problem, such as not being supplied the volume of gas that is planned,” Cordeiro said.  

However, he did not say what would prevent Nigeria supplying the LNG it was contracted to.

Although Portugal has its gas reserves at 100 percent of storage capacity, Cordeiro said if fewer Nigerian LNG deliveries materialised, it would have to look for alternative supplies.

He added that with other European countries seeking alternatives from Russian gas, prices of imported gas would likely increase.

Cordeiro, therefore, said Portugal is “diversifying its suppliers to increase the country’s energy security”.

He said the country, also a European Union member, was adopting strategies to lower gas consumption, while boosting its already high production of electricity through renewables.

“Portugal has been preparing, like all of Europe, for what will be a difficult winter,” he said, urging the European Commission to move forward with the implementation of a joint gas purchasing platform and defining import prices.

LNG is supplied by the Nigerian Liquified Natural Gas (NLNG) company.

NLNG is owned by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Eni, TotalEnergies and Shell, with a capacity of 22 million tonnes per year.

The company had said its output was affected by oil theft and vandalism, adding that it was running at 68 percent of its capacity due to the menace. 

Last year, Portugal imported 2.8 billion cubic meters of LNG from Nigeria, or 49.5 percent of total imports, while the United States was the second-largest supplier with a share of 33.3 percent.