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BANGKOK, Sept 15 (Reuters) – Nigerian LNG producer NLNG aims to start up its $10 billion Train 7 LNG project by the end of 2027, its managing director Adeleye Falade told reporters on the sidelines of the Gastech conference in Bangkok.

The project on Bonny Island, which will expand NLNG’s capacity to 30 million metric tons per year from 22 million tpy, has faced repeated delays, most recently from the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ukraine war.

NLNG is still under a force majeure that was imposed in 2022, Falade told the Gastech conference, after widespread flooding disrupted its supply.

The company is expected to lift that measure when it reaches a 90% utilization rate, he said, adding that the plant is currently operating at 82% to 83% utilization.

“We still have a delta of about 15% that we need to close,” Falade said. “Operationally, we are able to do that, but our biggest constraint is gas supply, and we’re working with all the relevant people, including the government, to be able to get more gas to flow into the plant.”

However, the company is focused on meeting its existing contractual obligations to its buyers under force majeure, he added.

Falade added that more interest in additional volumes and spot LNG cargoes emerged after exports via the Strait of Hormuz were curtailed by the Iran war. “People are looking at more diversified, reliable sources of supply,” he said.

“Our priority currently is to continue to make sure that we fulfil our obligations to our existing customers and maximize as much production opportunity as possible that we have,” he added.

NLNG is majority-owned by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company. Foreign partners include Shell, TotalEnergies and Eni.