Nigeria’s Minister of State for Gas, Ekperikpe Ekpo has told attendees at the ongoing Gastech Conference in Singapore, that the country has the capacity to grow its gas production to over 5 billion cubic feet per day by 2030.
According to Reuters reports,Ekpo said this to attendees at the conference while stating that the country had access to funds needed to expand production, without revealing more details. He said:
“In Nigeria, it has been declared a decade of gas from 2020 to 2030. So, by 2030, we’ll get to 5.5 billion cubic feet of daily production (57 billion cubic meters a year).”
While Ekpo is clearly referring to gas production in the country, it remains ambiguous whether the 5.5 bcf figure includes gas that is reinjected, exported, or flared within the nation.
Furthermore, it is not evident if the production figure mentioned, exceeding 5.5 bcf, is solely designated for domestic consumption. This uncertainty arises from Ekpo’s mention of the ‘Decade of Gas Initiative,’ which primarily focuses on domestic usage.
Data from the Nigerian Liquefied Petroleum Gas Association (NLPGA) shows that Nigeria has a gas reserve of 209.5 trillion cubic feet, making it the world’s ninth-largest gas producer and Africa’s gas powerhouse.
Daily gas production stands at 7.8 billion cubic feet, but 2.2 billion cubic feet of gas are re-injected daily. Meanwhile, daily gas consumption averages 1.5 billion cubic feet, serving domestic and commercial applications.
However, the country exports 3.7 billion cubic feet daily to global destinations through the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited and the West African Gas Pipeline (WAGP).
Also, when it comes to gas production, the June 2023 Statistical Review of World Energy report revealed that Nigeria’s natural gas production reached 40.4 billion cubic meters in 2022.
The country’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports also experienced a decrease, totalling 19.6 billion cubic meters in 2022.