Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Dr. Ekperikpe Ekpo, says that the National Economic Council (NEC) has approved N185 billion to settle validated legacy debts owed to upstream gas producers.
Ekpo told journalists in Abuja that settling the debts would improve gas supply to power plants and strengthen investor confidence in Nigeria’s gas sector.
“This is not merely about settling debt. It is about restoring commercial discipline, improving supply reliability and rebuilding investor confidence,” he said.
The minister said that the approval was aimed at restoring commercial discipline and improving reliability across the gas-to-power value chain.
On infrastructure, Ekpo said that the OB3 Gas Pipeline was 100 per cent complete, with pre-commissioning concluded ahead of first gas.
He explained that the pipeline has the capacity to transport 2 billion cubic feet of gas daily and that the project is expected to unlock over 500 million standard cubic feet per day (MMscf/D) of additional domestic gas supply.
Ekpo said that the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline was about 95 per cent complete.
He added that the Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund (MDGIF), with N671 billion in public funding, had attracted N1.6 trillion in private investment.
The minister said that the funding covered 31 projects and 205 infrastructure assets, capable of delivering about 475 MMscf/D to the domestic market.
Ekpo also said that the Federal Government was targeting about 30 billion dollars in gas investment by 2030 and that the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) conversions had risen from about 11,000 vehicles in 2023 to more than 120,000.
He added that the government was targeting at least one million CNG-powered vehicles and up to 1,000 refuelling stations nationwide.
Ekpo said that the government was also targeting five million households for Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) access by 2030 and that distribution of 27,000 free LPG cylinders per state was already underway as part of efforts to expand cleaner cooking energy access.
Speaking on gas flaring, Ekpo said that 42 companies had been awarded contracts to convert flare gas into energy, feedstock, LPG, CNG and power.
According to him, the government will sustain regulatory and commercial measures to end routine gas flaring by 2030 and that the Nigerian gas agenda is anchored on raising production, expanding infrastructure and attracting investment.
He added that the agenda included improving gas supply to the power sector and ensuring producing communities benefited from the sector.
GIK/APA