Nigeria is putting more capital into its midstream gas sector to close the critical infrastructure gap that hinders its economic growth, according to the Special Adviser to President Tinubu on Energy, Mrs. Olu Verheijen.
She made the statement during the OTL Downstream Week, a conference that brought together stakeholders in the oil and gas industry, held in Lagos recently.
Verheijen said the government was working with the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to streamline the approval and regulatory processes for gas projects and to deploy funds from the Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund (MDGIF) to support gas development.
She added that the Tinubu-led administration was focused on unleashing the gas potential of the country, which has over 208 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves, as a transition fuel to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.
The Authority Chief Executive Officer of NMDPRA, Farouk Ahmed, who also spoke at the event, said his agency was an enabler of investments in the midstream and downstream sectors, which are untapped and have a lot of opportunities.
He said his agency was engaging with potential and existing investors to ensure the safety and benefits of gas development for the country.
The Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Gabriel Aduda, identified some key areas to focus on to develop Nigeria’s downstream sector. These include infrastructural development, refining capacity expansion, and supportive regulations.
Nigeria’s efforts to boost its gas sector align with the global increasing demand for cleaner and cheaper energy sources. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), global gas demand is expected to grow by 3.6% annually until 2025, driven by Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.
Nigeria is also a major player in the global liquefied natural gas (LNG) market, exporting about 33 billion cubic meters of LNG in 2021. The country plans to increase its LNG production capacity by 35% by 2024 with the completion of Train 7 of the Nigeria LNG project.
The government hopes that by investing in gas infrastructure and utilization, it will create more jobs, reduce poverty, improve power supply, and diversify its economy away from oil dependence.
Source: Nairametrics
