Over $20bn Investments Needed Annually For Gas Expansion Projects—FG

A whopping annual investments of $20bn would be required annually by the Federal Government to implement the gas expansion project as well as increase gas penetration in Nigeria.

The Executive Secretary, Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative Ogbonnaya Orji, said this at the Decade of Gas Action Plan Dialogue, organised by the African Initiative for Transparency, Accountability and Responsible Leadership, in Abuja.

The National Gas Expansion Programme (NGEP) was
introduced to make CNG the fuel of choice for transportation and LPG, the fuel of choice for domestic cooking, captive power and small industrial
complexes.

Equally, gas-based industries, most especially the petrochemical (fertilizer, methanol, etc) are to be enabled to support large
industries, such as agriculture, industrial applications, textile and so on.

Speaking at the event, Orji explained that for the gas utilisation policy of the Federal Government to work, there is need for deliberate ambitious investment in gas infrastructure.

He explained further that this would require investments in specific connectivity across upstream facilities to processing, power plants, and other end uses.

He said, “Nigeria has the largest gas reserves in Africa and the ninth largest globally NET put the country’s gas reserves at over 200 trillion cubic feet (tof).

” NEITI’s position is consistent with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act passed in 2011. The PIA provided the most significant progress for the gas sector in strengthening governance and providing fiscal frameworks for the sector’s growth

“We call on the government to urgently put a national gas utilization policy in place. Such policy reeds to be clear on the specific roles of the industry, government in implementing the plan.

” Similarly, the gas utilization plan should show the market opportunities that would successfully translate the gas plans into sustainable development. NEITI recommends a costed plan with realistic targets.”

The Executive Director, African Initiative for Transparency, Accountability and Responsible Leadership, Louis Ogbeifun, who also spoke at the event explained that many countries were currently abandoning fossil fuels.

He said Nigeria’s focus on using gas as a sustainable energy alternative is capital-intensive, adding that about $1trn been projected to be required to meet energy transition plan by 2060.

This huge funding requirement, he added, has made it imperative for stakeholders to be worried about how to fund gas projects in a manner that would be cost-efficient.

He said, “Many countries are abandoning fossil fuels as a significant energy source. For Nigeria to make good on its promise to join the train, it would have to increase its crude oil
production in the short run beyond the current level to have money to diversify and invest in other alternative sources.

“Even in the medium- and long-term periods, natural gas,
which Nigeria has in abundance, which has been described as cleaner than coal or
petroleum, is also within the fossil fuel family.

“This means that walking off fossil fuel for Nigeria is not immediately foreseeable. The question is, how does Nigeria maximize its
hydrocarbon benefits with so much of its assets lost to vandalism, crude theft, and the
massive depreciation of its currency?

“Nigeria’s focus on using gas as a sustainable energy alternative is capital-intensive. It has
been speculated that Nigeria would need over $1 trillion to achieve the 2060 zero-emission targets.

“With the dwindling international funding support and the expulsion of
foreign interests from some parts of the continent, which is spreading to other countries
in the sub-region, we, as citizens, must be worried about how to fund and birth the gas
projects in a manner that would be cost-efficient, cost-effective, and less hazardous to our
women, youths and the rest of our citizens.”

ENDS