The Vice President of Dangote Industries Limited, Mr. Devakumur Edwin has disclosed the reason for jettisoning plans to build a 1200km subsea gas pipeline to bring gas from the sea to the shore.
He stated this during a space on X organised by Nairametrics where he noted that the company had earlier planned to process the gas for use by local companies and businesses.
According to him, the government’s policy then does not allow a single player in upstream, midstream and downstream.
He further noted that another government policy that prevented them from executing the project was government’s ownership of gas pipelines across the country regardless of who built them.
He said, “Nigeria has a lot of gas which is trapped in the sea because there is no way to bring it to the shore. We wanted to invest in a network of 1,200km of subsea gas pipeline to bring the gas to the shore and our idea was not to export as NLNG because there is absolutely no difference between exporting the crude or the gas because it is raw material which you can produce a range of petrochemical materials from.”
“The gas pipeline was supposed to bring in 2 billion scf of gas. We did a one-year study by hiring two ships to identify the route through which we lay the subsea gas pipeline so that the gas can be collected and evacuated. But then, the government’s policy was that there can be one player upstream, midstream and downstream. We were trying to find a solution to that then the government said all gas pipelines once you build it, you’ll had it over to the Nigeria Gas company. So that this how the project was abandoned.”
The Vice President further noted the company’s had plans in upstream oil production but has invested up to $23 billion in the refinery and fertiliser plant.
Nigeria’s gas potentials
Nigeria, home to Africa’s largest natural gas reserves exceeding 200 trillion cubic feet, continues to flare gas from its oil fields due to inadequate processing infrastructure and capital limitations.
Nairametrics earlier reported the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) announced plans to increase the country’s natural gas reserves to 600 trillion cubic feet, tripling its current capacity. Mele Kyari, NNPCL’s Group CEO, stated that this plan is key to Nigeria achieving its net-zero emissions target by 2060.
Additionally, in January, NNPCL secured a deal with a South Korean consortium, led by Daewoo E&C, to advance gas development projects.
Furthermore, Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Limited alongside French energy major, TotalEnergies, signed a deal to invest $550 million to develop gas facilities in oil-rich Rivers State. These efforts align with the nation’s Energy Transition Plan, focusing on low-carbon emissions strategies, including the expanded use of natural gas, to meet its 2060 net-zero goals.
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