Nigeria’s drive to transform its vast natural gas reserves into electricity, industrial growth and export competitiveness has been undermined by a flawed domestic pricing regime that continues to discourage investment and push producers towards foreign markets, industry leaders warned.
Despite possessing 215.19 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of proven gas reserves and ranking among the world’s largest gas holders, Nigeria remains one of the most energy-poor nations globally, generating barely 4,000 megawatts (MW) to 5,000MW of electricity for a population exceeding 220 million people.
Industry executives made this known during a panel session on Building Nigeria’s Energy Future at BusinessDay’s CEO Forum themed, “From Stability to Shared Prosperity.”
They said the problem is not resource availability but the commercial environment surrounding domestic gas supply, where regulated prices, payment uncertainties and policy distortions have combined to keep billions of dollars of potential investment on the sidelines.
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