Increase production to achieve Nigeria’s 2030 target, minister tells gas firms

By Abubakar Yunusa

Ekperikpe Ekpo, the minister of state for petroleum resources (gas), has urged major gas-producing companies to increase production by one billion standard cubic feet (bscf) per day to meet Nigeria’s 2030 target.

If the minister’s expectation materialises, gas firms will be expected to produce one billion scf of gas every day for the next five years.

Speaking at an engagement with upstream gas industry stakeholders held at the NNPC Towers, Ekpo urged the producers to align with the nation’s gas production goals and work towards eliminating routine flaring.

He stressed the need for accelerated growth in the sector to meet the “federal government’s target of 12 billion scf of gas per day by 2030 from the current 7.3billion scf production capacity”.

“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,” Ekpo 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.”

Ekpo described the recent divestments by major oil companies as a turning point for Nigeria’s energy sector, highlighting the opportunity to intensify the exploitation and production of both associated gas (AG) and nonassociated gas (NAG) within the country.

“Capitalizing on these divestments requires a clear strategy to accelerate project timelines, modernize existing facilities, and deploy innovative extraction and processing technologies,” he added.

The minister underscored the need for enhanced collaboration with international stakeholders and technical experts to ensure the successful delivery of critical gas infrastructure projects, such as the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) and Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben (OB-3) gas pipelines.

He said these projects are essential for connecting Nigeria’s gas resources to domestic and industrial markets, thereby advancing the country’s goal of becoming a regional hub for natural gas.

Commending the NNPC/TotalEnergies joint venture (JV) for eliminating routine gas flaring in its operations, the minister urged other operators to follow suit.

Also speaking, Olalekan Ogunleye, executive vice-president of gas, power, and new energy at the NNPC Ltd, assured that the national oil firm and its partners are working together across the gas value chain to meet the target.

“At present, every industry in the domestic gas space is receiving the gas they require due to the very productive cross-sectional collaboration,” he said.

Ogunleye, providing updates on the AKK and OB-3 pipelines development, said the projects have reached 78 percent and 97 percent completion, respectively.

He added that the NNPC is working towards “the timely completion of these projects”.