The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, has called on major gas-producing companies in Nigeria to ramp up production by at least one billion standard cubic feet (BCF) per day in order to achieve the federal government’s gas target of 12 billion scf per day by 2030.
Speaking during a strategic engagement with upstream gas stakeholders at the NNPC Towers in Abuja on Monday, Ekpo urged producers to align their operations with the nation’s production ambitions and intensify efforts to end routine flaring.
“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,” the minister said.
“To achieve this, we must aggressively increase drilling operations in joint venture assets across all terrains land, swamp, and offshore and prioritise the completion of major gas processing and evacuation infrastructure projects,” he noted.
Ekpo described the recent divestment moves by international oil companies as a pivotal moment for Nigeria’s energy future.
According to him, the changing ownership landscape offers a unique opportunity to boost the production of associated and non-associated gas.
“Capitalizing on these divestments requires a clear strategy to accelerate project timelines, modernize existing facilities, and deploy innovative extraction and processing technologies,” he said.
He also emphasized the importance of collaboration with global stakeholders and technical experts to ensure the successful delivery of flagship gas infrastructure projects like the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) and Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben (OB-3) gas pipelines.
According to the minister, these critical projects are essential to linking Nigeria’s gas resources to both domestic and industrial markets, thus positioning the country as a leading regional gas hub.
Commending the NNPC/TotalEnergies joint venture for successfully eliminating routine gas flaring in its operations, Ekpo urged other operators in the sector to emulate the feat.
Also speaking at the event, Olalekan Ogunleye, Executive Vice-President for Gas, Power, and New Energy at NNPC Ltd., reaffirmed the company’s commitment to meeting the national target through robust industry partnerships.
“At present, every industry in the domestic gas space is receiving the gas they require due to the very productive cross-sectional collaboration,” Ogunleye said.
He provided updates on ongoing pipeline projects, stating that the OB-3 and AKK pipelines have reached 97 percent and 78 percent completion, respectively.
He assured stakeholders that NNPC is working diligently toward “the timely completion of these projects.”