The volume of natural gas reserves in Africa and the demand for clean energy is enough to trigger a massive take-off of industrialisation, the NLNG’s Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Philip Mshelbila, has said.
Mshelbila spoke during a special session tagged “The Gas Day” at the summit during the 7th Nigeria International Energy Summit (NIES) in Abuja.
Represented by the Company’s Deputy Managing Director, Olakunle Osobu, during an industry speech session, Mshelbila said with a growing young population, abundant natural resources, and emerging internal markets, Africa has the capacity to meet the global demand.
Mshelbila said the potential for Africa’s growth relies heavily on energy to provide the necessary amenities in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Gas, he pointed out, remains a viable revenue generation strategy, experiencing a surge in demand due to its role as a clean energy option and transition fuel, both in Africa and globally.
With global demand for gas projected to increase to 5.1 trillion cubic meters by 2035, Mshelbila said Africa would require substantial investments in infrastructure to increase gas production and ensure the supply of significant volumes of natural gas to the world market in the future.
He emphasised that Africa, especially Nigeria, must take essential steps to attract the necessary investment to boost the capacity of the gas industry from exploration to production.
“Despite the huge gas potential in Nigeria, our country struggles with inadequate infrastructure to efficiently harness and distribute our gas resources. This infrastructure gap has not only hampered domestic energy growth and power generation, but also the country’s ability to meet its export commitments, posing a tremendous risk to our viability as a reliable and competitive gas supplier,” he said.
The dearth of investors, he noted, significantly impacts the availability of capital necessary to enhance gas infrastructure within the country.
Also, in his remarks in August 2022, he said the Federal Government of Nigeria would require an estimated yearly investment of $20 billion to bridge the gas infrastructure gap in Nigeria in the next 10 years.
Mshelbila who expressed optimism that the country would meet the demad, called for deliberate efforts in moving the needle on the Decade of Gas programme by the Federal Government.
He said the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) has the potential to reshape both the industry landscape and address deficiencies in the country’s gas infrastructure.
“Facilitating an enabling environment that is light on regulatory volatility and heavy on efficiency of process and operations will encourage foreign investment, which is the means to bridging the infrastructure gap in a competitive and sustainable manner,” he concluded.
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