Page 4 - AfrOil Week 26 2021

AfrOil COMMENTARY AfrOil

Auwalu at the “Decade of Gas” launch ceremony (Photo: DPR)
Nigeria’s gas plans

The government has proclaimed a “Decade of Gas” but may have difficulty realising its ambitions

NIGERIA’S government dubbed 2020 the “Year committed to the idea of producing, monetis-
of Gas” in 2019, declaring that the time had ing and exploiting the country’s gas resources.
WHAT: come to focus on developing the country’s mas- In fact, it has expanded the scale of its develop-
Abuja is still keen to sive reserves of natural and associated gas. Offi- ment strategy to reflect its interest in gas-driven
promote domestic cials in Abuja talked up gas projects, describing industrialisation and other long-term goals, and
gasification, gas-to- Nigeria as a gas-rich state that also happened in late March of this year, President Muham-
power and gas-fuelled to possess oil reserves rather than the other madu Buhari announced the formal launch of
industrialisation. way around, and outlined plans for using gas to the “Decade of Gas” initiative.
improve domestic fuel and electricity supplies “When we declared 2020 as ‘The Year of Gas”
WHY: while also increasing exports. in Nigeria, it was a bold statement to demon-
The country’s gas re- These ambitious plans did not bear as much strate our administration’s resolve that gas devel-
serves are huge and still fruit as Nigerian authorities had hoped. Instead, opment [and] utilisation should be a national
growing.
the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic affected priority,” Buhari wrote in a Twitter post. “Now
the energy industry while in the process of dis- we’re going a step further to dedicate this decade
WHAT NEXT: rupting the world economy. Demand for fuel to industrialising Nigeria using gas.”
The success of the gas
programme may hinge on and power declined as a result of lockdowns and
the passage of the PIB. other public health policies that curbed business Big numbers
activity, causing oil and gas prices to fall sharply. This move is understandable, given the sheer
In turn, weak demand made international oil size of Nigeria’s gas reserves – and the fact that
companies (IOCs) more reluctant to commit to the resource base just keeps growing.
new investments, even as travel restrictions gave Timipre Sylva, the Minister of State for Petro-
them yet another reason to decide against send- leum Resources, highlighted these points over
ing representatives to Nigeria for negotiations. the weekend during a forum hosted by the News
Despite these setbacks, Abuja has remained Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

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