By Chijioke Ohuocha
LAGOS, July 29 (Reuters) - Nigeria Liquefied Natural GasCompany (NLNG) expects to take delivery of four LNG carrierships before year-end and another two next year, its chiefexecutive said, positioning the state-backed gas exporter toexpand its share of the growing market.
NLNG signed agreements with South Korea's Samsung HeavyIndustries and Hyundai Heavy Industries in 2013 to acquire six LNG carrier ships, costing more than $1.2 billion, to boost its fleet of 23.
It had tapped South Korea Export and Import Bank and otherlenders to fund the construction, CEO Babs Omotowa said.
Omotowa said the global market for LNG - natural gas thathas been cooled to a liquid form, which shrinks the volume and makes it easier to store and ship - was forecast to grow to 430million tonnes per year by 2030 from 230 million now.
Nigeria, with the world's fourth-biggest LNG plant, wants tocapture some of that by expanding its market share to more than10 percent - a spot it held in 2008 - from 7 percent now,Omotowa said, without giving a time frame.
"With our growth projects train 7 and train 8, we hope toexpand our capacity by 40 percent and take us back to over 10percent," he said in an interview in Lagos, referring to NLNG'Sgas liquefaction production lines. NLNG, located on the Atlanticbasin, has the capacity for 12 trains.
NLNG, owned by Nigerian state oil firm NNPC, Royal DutchShell, France's Total and Italy's Eni, has the capacity to produce 22 million tonnes of LNG ayear. The company, set up 15 years ago to produce the gas forexport, did not give current capacity figures.
It has long-term supply contracts with Spain's Repsol,Italy's Enel, Britain's BG Group, France's GDF Suez andPortugal's Galp. It also sells on the spot market.
Nigeria, one of the world's top-10 gas rich countries, hasestimated reserves of 180 trillion cubit feet, Omotowa said, butit converts only about 1.5 trillion cubic feet per year to LNG.
NLNG, which generates more than $10 billion in annualrevenue, is also sponsoring the construction of the first majorship yard in Nigeria at a cost of $1.5 billion, in order todevelop capacity for maintaining large vessels at home.
Omotowa said LNG exports had not impacted domestic supply.The domestic gas market had been held back by a lack ofinfrastructure including a functional rail system to ferry gasaround the country and government funding challenges, he said.
Gas demand in Africa's most populous nation is expected torise to 3 billion standard cubic feet (scuf) per day by 2017 asgas-fired power plants ramp up generation, industry officialssay. Demand has risen to 1.2 billion scuf per day, from 300million six years ago. (Editing by Susan Thomas)