August 28, 2024 [Zawya]- Lagos-headquartered Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) announced on Tuesday that it is arranging a project development facility to support Africa’s largest gas-to-methanol plant.
The project, which will be set up in Akwa Ibom, Nigeria, will capture flared gas and turn it into methanol, an industrial chemical essential to the manufacturing of solvents (for the pharmaceutical industry), paints, plastics, automobile parts and construction materials.
AFC has committed development stage financing to de-risk the project and enable it reach financial close, along with providing financial advisory services to the sponsors to raise the required project financing and also support its successful delivery.
The venture is led by Blackrose, a project development and investment firm, and co-developed with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), which are co-financing alongside AFC.
The project will be implemented in two phases, each with an installed capacity of 1.8 MTPA. Phase one will produce low-carbon methanol while
Phase two will expand methanol production to include ammonia, a critical feedstock for fertiliser production.
By utilising best-in-class energy efficient production methods, the plant will achieve a much lower net carbon intensity compared to traditional methanol synthesis techniques, while also reducing CO2 emissions by converting gas that would otherwise have been flared.
Additionally, the project incorporates plans for carbon capture and offset strategies as well as the use of external hydrogen to bring targets even closer to carbon neutrality.
Once operational, the gas-to-methanol plant is expected to generate more than 2,500 local jobs during the construction phase and a further 16,000 jobs indirectly by catalysing manufacturing activity and economic diversification.
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