KEY POINTS
- Nigeria needs 22 billion dollars in new investment to complete planned pipeline infrastructure and avoid future supply shortages.
- Gas demand is projected to surpass supply by 2030 unless production and delivery capacity expand rapidly.
- The national oil company is pursuing pricing reforms, reserve upgrades, and major pipeline projects to unlock financing and boost supply.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, has disclosed that Nigeria needs about 22 billion dollars in fresh investment to complete its planned gas pipeline network, warning that current infrastructure development plans cannot be achieved without substantial capital inflows.
Details contained in its Gas Master Plan 2026 show that although the country already operates more than 2,500 kilometres of pipelines, major expansion projects are still pending and require strong financing support to reach completion.
The company explained that critical national projects such as the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano Pipeline and the Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben Pipeline are central to expanding gas delivery capacity across regions and industrial clusters.
These pipelines are expected to strengthen supply to power plants, gas-based industries, and commercial users, sectors projected to drive future domestic demand growth.
Demand expected to outpace supply by 2030
According to projections in the master plan, gas demand is likely to exceed supply under all scenarios by 2030, making accelerated investment in production and infrastructure essential.
The company noted that domestic gas delivery performance improved to 70 percent in 2024 from 50 percent five years earlier, but warned that this progress could stall unless new infrastructure is completed and upstream development is intensified.
The national energy firm aims to increase gas commercialisation from about 60 percent of production today to 75 percent by 2027 and 80 percent by 2030 through infrastructure readiness, reduced flaring, and sustained upstream investment.
It is also pursuing conversion of possible reserves into proved-plus-probable reserves to improve project bankability and attract international financing for deepwater developments.
Production is forecast to reach 10 billion standard cubic feet per day by 2027 and could rise to 15 billion by 2030 as new hubs and offshore clusters ramp up.
These include integrated development zones designed to streamline processing, lower costs through shared facilities, and improve operational efficiency. The plan further highlights the importance of projects such as the Trans-Nigeria Gas Pipeline to close deliverability gaps and support regional export ambitions.
