Russia-Ukraine War Has Provided Opportunity For Nigeria To Dominate Gas Market—Komolafe

The Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission, Gbenga Komolafe, has said that the Russia- Ukraine war has provided an opportunity for Nigeria to dominate the gas market.

Komolafe said this during a monitored interview on Arise TV on Monday.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine opened up opportunity for gas rich nations in Africa to tap from the multi-billiondollar market.

Russia which accounted for about 45 per cent of the Europe’s gas imports and 40 per cent of its entire gas consumption is facing huge economic sanctions as Europe seeks to reduce dependence on their gas by 80 per cent by the end of 2022.

Nigeria has been described as a gas nation with 206.53 trillion cubic feet of proven gas deposit and hopes to use the energy source as its transition fuel.

The scramble for African gas has begun as Italy’s Prime Minister Mario Draghi on Monday, visited Algeria over diversifying gas supply mix. Italy depends on Russia for 40 per cent of gas imports.

Nigeria has Africa’s biggest proven gas reserves and ninth in the world, according to the United States Energy Information Administration.

Komolafe said, “The situation in Ukraine has actually presented a huge opportunity for Nigeria to occupy the market space in terms of the gas supply.

“I believe that is possible and as a regulator, we are doing everything possible to ensure that Nigeria is able to fulfil that obligation.

“We are reviewing the field development plans by operators at the moment to ensure that more gas is produced and pushed to the field.”

Nigeria launched its decade of gas in February 2021 in a move to transition into clean energy and as well eliminate energy poverty, eating up about 40 per cent of its population.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd is currently deepening natural gas utilization to reduce energy poverty through the National Gas Expansion Programme and intensifying the use of petrochemicals.

The NNPC has also upscaled efforts in the gas sector through various projects like the NLNG Train 7, Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano Natural Gas Pipeline (AKK), OB3 and ELPS among others.

The NNPC is also expanding and integrating both domestic and regional power grids and growing the domestic gas markets through Autogas/Compressed Natural Gas/Liquified Petroleum Gas to power vehicles.

He said, “There is a local investor that is the UTM Offshore Limited. The commission is encouraging the investor to actually get that project completed in collaboration with the NNPC.

“That project has the capacity to put in the market 2 million tonnes of gas per annum and again LNG equally has a capacity to push more gas in the market in the long term. By the time the train 7 is equally completed, we believe that Nigeria will be a much more better capacity to fill the market gap at least optimise the market.”

In March 2022, the Group Managing Director and CEO, Mele Kyari, of the NNPC Ltd revealed during the Atlantic Council Global Energy Forum held in the United Arab Emirates that the country is planning massive investments in pipeline infrastructure that will deliver gas from Nigeria to Europe through the North African region.

The MD listed crude oil theft, vandalism and the issues surrounding host communities as top of the challenges being faced in the sector.

He lamented the impact of theft in the sector could discourage investors from bringing in the needed resources for gas expansion.

He said, “It is worrisome that the Nigerian upstream environment has become very hostile due to the activities of these criminals maybe the issue of host communities especially the issue of crude oil theft has made upstream sector very unattractive at the moment and it is an issue that seriously needs to be dealt with.

“The investors are there, the issue of energy transition is there, but that is not playing major impact in attractiveness of the sector to investment. So, we believe as a regulator and of course we really commend the effort of the Federal Government in line with the directive of president Muhammadu Buhari that crude oil theft should be curbed.

“At the moment the various government security agencies are doing everything possible to ensure that this act of criminality is brought to the barest minimum if not completely stopped.”