The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, will woo investors to explore opportunities in the country’s oil and gas sector at the Invest in African Energy (IAE) forum in Paris.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the ministry said the Ekpo will outline investment opportunities in Nigeria’s gas sector, drawing attention to exploration prospects and infrastructure requirements to connect global investors at the event, which will be held on May 14–15, 2024.
Nigeria aims to increase gas production to 5.5 billion cubic feet per day by 2030 and launched a Decade of Gas initiative in 2021 to achieve this goal.
“The country holds the largest proven natural gas reserves in Africa, measured at over 200 trillion cubic feet of which 139 tcf is recoverable. With much of these resources largely undeveloped and the government placing gas as a priority resource for industrialisation, Nigeria offers a wealth of opportunities for project developers across the gas value chain,” the ministry stated.
It added that the country was launching a 2024 licensing round to boost investment in deepwater gas fields.
Shell had disclosed plans to invest $1bn in Nigerian gas over the next decade, while Chevron is expanding its Agbami field project and partnering with TotalEnergies on OPL 215.
Meanwhile, it disclosed that TotalEnergies had already kick-started operations at the Akpo West field this month, increasing output at the field by 14,000 barrels of condensate per day.
The project is expected to produce an additional four million cubic meters of gas by 2028.
“The country also expects FID to be made for its first FLNG facility in Q1, 2024, with a shareholders agreement signed in December 2023 for the development of the 1.8 billion tons per annum project. To meet 2030 production targets, new investment is needed in upstream gas,” it noted.
Shell recently approved the construction of a gas supply facility to support the Dangote Fertilizer and Petrochemical plant for a decade, providing up to 100 million standard cubic feet of gas per day.
It asserted that those moves underscored efforts to bolster pipeline infrastructure for industry expansion, power generation, and regional distribution.
The Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano pipeline—a two billion cubic feet per day (bcm/d) project, is expected to be completed by mid-2024, while a meeting was held in January 2024 to expedite the development of the 3.3 bcm/d Nigeria-Morocco pipeline project.
The ministry remarked that construction of a seventh train at the country’s inaugural LNG project, Nigeria LNG was also underway, with the project reaching 52 per cent completion as of November 2023.
“NLNG has exported LNG for 20 years. A new train will up production by 7.6 million tons/year, indicating ample project opportunities. Additional investments are needed for full capacity, offering lucrative prospects for foreign firms. More details at the IAE 2024 forum,” it added.
