Nigeria’s state firm NNPC has signed an agreement with Golar LNG to deploy a floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessel off the coast of its oil-rich Niger Delta, NNPC said on Tuesday.

Nigeria, Africa’s top oil producer, holds the continent’s largest gas reserves of more than 200 million trillion cubic feet and is seeking investments to boost output.

NNPC spokesperson Olufemi Soneye said the Project Development Agreement (PDA) will utilise about 500 million standard cubic feet of gas per day, producing LNG, propane and condensate.

“The agreement aims to monetize vast proven gas reserves from shallow water resources offshore Nigeria,” Soneye said in a statement.

Soneye said NNPC and Golar LNG have agreed to achieve a Final Investment Decision (FID) on the project before the end of the year with production expected to start in 2027.

The deal is the second floating LNG accord the NNPC has signed with partners in the past year and follows two other LNG agreements with investors to increase its domestic supplies and exports.

Nigeria, which still flares excess gas produced due to inadequate processing infrastructure, launched a national gas expansion programme in 2020 to end flaring by increasing local use of gas.