Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — The Federal Government has issued a directive to major gas producers in Nigeria to ramp up daily gas output by at least 1billion standard cubic feet, bscf, annually from 2025 to 2030, as part of an aggressive strategy to hit a national production target of 12bscf per day, by the end of the decade.
The charge came from the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Rt. Hon. Ekperikpe Ekpo, during a high-level engagement with upstream gas stakeholders held at the NNPC Towers, Abuja
Nigeria currently produces approximately 7.3bscf per day, and the new push signals a significant scale-up in production, investment, and infrastructure.
Ekpo stressed that meeting the target would require accelerated drilling campaigns across joint venture assets and faster delivery of gas processing and evacuation infrastructure.
He said, “We need to grow natural gas production by at least 1 BCF annually till 2030. Nigeria must emerge among the top 10 natural gas-consuming nations by 2030.
“We must aggressively increase drilling operations in JV assets across all terrains (land, swamp, and offshore) and prioritise completion of major infrastructure projects.”
The Minister also highlighted the strategic opportunity presented by recent divestments by International Oil Companies, IOCs, describing them as a “pivotal moment” to expand domestic production of Associated Gas, AG and Non-Associated Gas, NAG.
“Capitalizing on these divestments requires a clear strategy to accelerate project timelines, modernize existing facilities, and deploy innovative extraction and processing technologies,” Ekpo said.
A key focus of the meeting was Nigeria’s flagship gas infrastructure projects, the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano, AKK pipeline and the OB-3 pipeline, which are crucial for transporting gas to industrial and commercial hubs across the country.
Ekpo called for enhanced collaboration with international partners to deliver these projects and unlock their economic benefits.
“These pipelines are critical to connecting our gas wealth to domestic and regional markets. Their timely completion will support our ambition to become West Africa’s natural gas hub,” he stated.
On gas flaring, Ekpo lauded the NNPC/TotalEnergies Joint Venture for ending routine flaring in its operations and urged other operators to replicate the achievement.
“Flaring is wasteful and harmful. We must convert what was once waste into wealth,” he said.
The minister further called for accelerated project timelines, increased resource allocation, and public-private partnerships to bridge technical and funding gaps in the sector.
Special Adviser to the President on Policy and Coordination, Hadiza Usman, represented by Esege Esege, said the President remains deeply invested in seeing the gas sector realize its full economic potential.
Also speaking, Executive Vice President, Gas, Power, and New Energy at NNPC Ltd., Olalekan Ogunleye, affirmed that collaborative efforts across the gas value chain are already yielding results.
“At present, every industry in the domestic gas space is receiving the gas they require due to very productive cross-sectional collaboration,” Ogunleye said.
He revealed that the OB-3 pipeline is 97% complete, while the AKK pipeline has reached 78%, with full commissioning expected soon.
“We are working towards the timely completion of these critical projects,” Ogunleye added.
Gbenga Komolafe, Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC, assured the industry of a supportive regulatory environment and disclosed that dedicated gas assets will be featured in upcoming bid rounds, offering further opportunities for investors.
The meeting drew participation from senior executives of NNPC Ltd., Shell, TotalEnergies, Seplat, Renaissance Energy, Esso Exploration, and NAE/AENR, who pledged alignment with the national agenda to unlock Nigeria’s vast gas potential.
