The Nigeria LNG Ltd. (NLNG) has called for governance reforms, predictable regulation and sustained investment to unlock Nigeria’s estimated 600 trillion cubic feet (TCF) gas potential.
The Managing Director of NLNG, Mr. Adeleye Falade, said in a keynote address at the ongoing Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) Energy and Labour Summit (PEALS 2026) in Abuja that Nigeria remained rich in gas resources but faced significant gaps in production, utilisation and conversion into electricity, industrial inputs, jobs, revenue and economic growth.
Falade said that more than 37 per cent of Nigerians lacked access to electricity in 2024, while several gas-based industries continued to struggle with reliable supply despite the country’s abundant gas resources.
“Geology creates opportunity; governance determines the outcome. Countries do not prosper simply because they discover natural resources; they prosper when they create institutions,” Falade said.
He said that unlocking Nigeria’s gas potential required governance reforms, clear regulations, reliable infrastructure, competitive commercial frameworks and sustained investment to transform resources into economic value.
“Unlocking Nigeria’s gas potential requires governance reforms, clear regulations, reliable infrastructure, competitive commercial frameworks and sustained investment to transform gas resources into power, jobs and industrial growth,” he said.
Falade described the situation as a gas-to-value challenge, saying Nigeria needs to improve its capacity to convert abundant resources into electricity, industrial development, jobs, foreign exchange and prosperity.
According to him, Nigeria is a major LNG exporter, yet continues to face challenges securing dependable gas supply and electricity, while several gas-based value chains remain underdeveloped.
He said that gas could support power generation, fertiliser production, petrochemicals, liquefied petroleum gas and manufacturing, stressing that investment and effective execution were needed to unlock these opportunities.
“The size of the resource is not the same as the value that is created from it. The difference lies in governance, investment and execution,” Falade said.
He said that Nigeria had made progress through policy and regulatory reforms, including the National Gas Policy, Decade of Gas Initiative and Petroleum Industry Act.
Falade said that the 2017 National Gas Policy repositioned gas as a strategic national resource, while the Decade of Gas Initiative reinforced its role in industrialisation and economic diversification.
He said that the Petroleum Industry Act of 2021 also restructured Nigeria’s petroleum fiscal and regulatory frameworks, providing a foundation for improved investor confidence and sector development.
According to him, investors require clear rules, competitive fiscal terms, respected contracts and transparent regulatory processes before committing substantial capital to gas projects and infrastructure.
“Predictability reduces risk; reduced risk lowers the cost of capital; and lower capital costs make projects more viable. More viable projects create infrastructure, jobs and revenue across the sector.”
Falade said that effective regulation should be viewed not merely as an administrative requirement, but as a critical component of Nigeria’s investment infrastructure and economic development.
He explained that NLNG’s experience demonstrated what stable governance, long-term partnerships and stakeholder alignment could achieve, noting that the company commenced operations in 1999.
According to Falade, NLNG has grown into a six-train facility with capacity to produce 22 million metric tonnes per annum of LNG and five million metric tonnes of NGL.
He added that the NLNG had in 25 years loaded over 6,000 LNG cargoes, built an asset base exceeding 22.9 billion dollars, generated over 149.6 billion dollars in revenue to date, paid over 7.2 billion dollars in dividends and contributed over 10.8 billion dollars in taxes to the Nigerian economy.
GIK/APA