The Bayelsa State Government has signed a partnership agreement with United States-based energy company, Fulcrum LNG Incorporated, to develop a gas gathering and processing facility aimed at curbing gas flaring and supporting industrial development in the state.
The agreement was reached during the inaugural US-Nigeria Governors Government-to-Business Forum on Energy, Mining and Infrastructure held in Sugar Land, Texas.
According to the state government, the project will be executed in phases. The first phase focuses on capturing and commercialising gas currently being flared, with supplies expected to power Bayelsa’s Independent Power Plant and emerging industrial clusters. A second phase will expand into a broader gas monetisation programme designed to unlock the state's vast natural gas reserves.
Fulcrum LNG Chief Executive Officer, Jesus Bronchalo, said the company will begin with a field study of gas flare sites across Bayelsa to determine the scale of flaring and identify the most suitable technologies and infrastructure required for the project.
He explained that the assessment would help establish whether gas flaring is driven by inadequate transportation infrastructure or a lack of gas reinjection capacity, factors that will shape the project's implementation strategy.
Bronchalo disclosed that Fulcrum LNG is prepared to fund the project entirely, although the Bayelsa State Government may acquire an equity stake through capital investment. He added that the total investment value would be determined after a feasibility study, with the company aiming to move from a final investment decision to commissioning within 12 months.
Governor Douye Diri described the partnership as a mutually beneficial arrangement that would address environmental pollution caused by gas flaring while accelerating the state's industrialisation agenda.
"Our interest is how this project will reduce the effects of environmental pollution on our people and boost our industrialisation drive," Diri said, assuring investors of his administration's commitment to the initiative.
The governor noted that Bayelsa holds an estimated 15 to 20 per cent of Nigeria's proven gas reserves and supplies about 60 per cent of the gas consumed by Nigeria LNG Limited in Bonny, Rivers State.
He also highlighted the state's 203-kilometre Atlantic coastline and the proposed Agge Deep Seaport as key investment opportunities for energy and maritime infrastructure development.
The forum, organised by Westpaq International in collaboration with the United States Department of Commerce and the US Commercial Service in Houston, attracted representatives from several Nigerian states and more than 15 American energy, mining and financial companies.
The Bayelsa-Fulcrum LNG partnership will now proceed to the field assessment and feasibility study stage, which will determine the technical scope and investment requirements of the proposed facility.
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