KEY POINTS
- NNPC is calling for African-led financing systems to unlock the continent’s underutilised natural gas resources.
- The proposal aims to address payment bottlenecks and attract private investment into large energy projects.
- Major initiatives include the Nigeria–Morocco Gas Pipeline and expansion of the West African Gas Pipeline to boost regional energy trade.
The NNPC Limited has called for the creation of African-led capital and financing frameworks to address long-standing challenges hindering the development of the continent’s vast natural gas resources.
The appeal was made by the Executive Vice President for Gas, Power, and New Energy at NNPC Limited, Olalekan Ogunleye, during a strategic roundtable session at the Africa CEO Forum held in Kigali.
The discussion, themed “Gas without Cash: Breaking the African Monetisation Deadlock,” underscored a key contradiction: Africa possesses over 17.89 trillion cubic meters of proven natural gas reserves, yet continues to experience widespread energy shortages due to financing constraints.
Ogunleye warned that the absence of reliable payment systems and weak local financing structures remain major non-tariff barriers preventing the execution of large-scale energy projects across the continent.
He stressed that moving beyond policy discussions toward practical, bankable financial systems is essential to unlocking investment in the gas sector.
Call for Stronger Local Financing and Payment Systems
NNPC argued that Africa must reduce dependence on foreign donor funding and instead develop indigenous financial frameworks tailored to regional market realities.
According to the company, establishing predictable cash flow mechanisms and payment security systems would help de-risk energy projects and attract long-term private investment.
Such reforms, it noted, would transform Africa’s natural gas reserves into bankable assets capable of securing sustained infrastructure funding.
NNPC highlighted several ongoing and proposed regional gas infrastructure initiatives aimed at improving energy access and trade across Africa.
One of the most ambitious is the 5,600-kilometre Nigeria–Morocco Gas Pipeline, designed to transport Nigerian gas through 13 African countries toward European markets, with early phases focusing on expansion toward Côte d’Ivoire.
Another key project is the expansion of the West African Gas Pipeline, which currently supplies gas to power plants in Ghana, Benin, and Togo.
These projects are part of broader efforts to strengthen regional energy connectivity and improve electricity supply across West Africa.
NNPC also called for the creation of unified African investment platforms among national oil companies to reduce fragmentation in the sector.
The company proposed harmonised pricing structures and standardized regulatory frameworks across countries to eliminate barriers to cross-border gas trade.
Such coordination, it said, would help reduce project costs, attract sovereign-backed financing, and improve investor confidence in large-scale energy infrastructure.
