Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Rt. Hon. Ekperikpe Ekpo has called for a pragmatic approach to the global energy transition that prioritises access to and development of natural gas in emerging markets.
Speaking at ADIPEC 2025’s flagship Ministerial panel themed “Global Shifts: Navigating an Era of Diverging Priorities,” the Minister said that as advanced economies accelerate decarbonisation, emerging markets, such as Nigeria, face the dual challenge of meeting growing domestic demand while contributing to the net-zero agenda. “We cannot decarbonise to poverty,” he stated.
He advocated for deeper partnerships to mobilise capital, build gas-value chains, and ensure energy equity, while stressing that regulatory frameworks must evolve to match investment flows.
As the world’s climate decarbonization drive tends towards net-zero, Nigeria has been at the forefront of the global energy transition space, campaigning for the adoption of Natural gas as a low-carbon energy source.
With this abundant resource of close to 200 trillion cubic feet, according to the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Nigeria is currently boosting its economy through numerous domestic and international gas-oriented projects.
On the domestic front, the country’s access to a constant power supply is presently not encouraging, as out of over 200 million Nigerians, an estimated 90 million to 85 million people lack access to the grid, and over 74% of this population lacks access to clean cooking gas.
