The Nigeria commitment in the on-going Trans-Sahara Gas Pipeline project has recently received global relevance as Federal Government through the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd-NNPC disclosed its planned massive gas investment in the country pipeline infrastructural developmentthrough gas delivery from Nigeria to Europe region.

This was disclosed bythe Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Mele Kyari during the Atlantic Council Global Energy Forum held in the United Arab Emirates. The country energy Boss who spoke virtually on the ‘Role of gas in the energy transition’ said the country’s energy poverty can be resolved through massive investment in gas infrastructure.

There is urgent need for Europe to source externally its two-third of gas consumption basically from Africa and Arab nations; and Nigeria commitment to net zero carbon emission by 2060 has been structured accommodate gas as its transition energy source.

Europe is currently planning to cut two- thirds of its dependence on Russia’s gas this year.Alternatively Europe  is seeking at least 15 billion cubic meters of additional LNG supplies by the end of the year, though it’s not clear where it will come from. Member states will also work to ensure demand and facilities to take in up to 50 billion cubic meters of American fuel until at least 2030. The aim is to work with international partners to help the continent wean itself off Russian gas, which accounts for about 40% of Europe’s needs. 

Kyari said, “So, what we are doing is some kind of replacement such that we move from the dirtier fuel to cleaner fuel which is gas. And what we had to do is to build enormous gas infrastructure required to ensure that there is sufficient supply of gas into the domestic market and provide some for the international market.

“And more than that, within the West African context, you will see that energy inefficiency and poverty that you see in Nigeria is also in many West African countries around us.

“Therefore, we are trying to see how we can build a network of pipeline infrastructure that will deliver gas and potentially to jump into Europe through Morocco or through Algeria. This is what we are working on,”Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Mele Kyari, stated.

Nigeria flares major part of its natural gas produced but was recently driven for massive gas investment program via President Muhammadu Buhari signing of the Petroleum Industry Act into law on 16th August, 2021.

The country is estimated a proven 203 trillion-cubit gas reserves has in 2020 embarked on massive gas pipelines project, through the National Gas Expansion Programme.

The National oil company is also making concerted efforts in the gas sector through various projects such as the NLNG Train 7, Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano Natural Gas Pipeline, Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben Gas Pipeline (OB3) and the Escravos–Lagos Pipeline System (ELPS).

In his virtual speech, Kyari told the Atlantic Council that Nigeria’s 203 trillion-cubit gas resources will be enough to cover the West African region and other parts of the globe irrespective of its expected population growth of 307 million people by 2047, adding that this may trigger more energy poverty if measures are not put in place to boost energy security.

“You do need about 7gw of energy from renewables every year to close this gap as we go forward.We are working toward that direction. But more than that you know, in terms of our supply of energy in our country today, 70 per cent of energy, electricity for instance is coming from thermal sources and these thermal sources particularly in our country today, most of them are not coming from gas majority of them are coming from fuel oil and other dirtier fuel,” he added.