Minister of State Petroleum Resources (Gas), Rt. Hon. Ekperikpe Ekpo, has assured that the regulatory and fiscal incentives produced by the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) would be seamlessly delivered to boost investments in the gas industry.
This is as he has pledged improved gas supply for industrial, power, transportation and domestic purposes and the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) plant in Bonny, Rivers State.
Spokesperson for the minister, Louis Ibah, in a statement quoted Ekpo as stating this in a speech delivered at the 3rd Biennial International Conference on Hydrocarbon Science and Technology (ICHST) 2023 in Abuja on Monday saying there was need to boost the domestic market for gas.
Ekpo noted that at present, the Nigeria LNG plant operates below its installed capacity due to gas supply issues, even as the local gas market has been grossly under-tapped due to infrastructural and pricing issues.
He listed some of the factors stifling effective gas utilisation for exports and local consumption to include inadequate infrastructure, sabotage of crude oil and gas pipelines, unclear regulatory environment and inability to optimize value from the country’s abundant gas reserves.
“The ministry under my watch has identified these challenges and is working assiduously with the Ministry of Petroleum Resources (Oil) to ensure the security of supply to the NLNG plants, and increasing gas penetration and utilisation by local users for power, transportation, industrial and domestic purposes,” Ekpo said.
“The Ministry of Petroleum Resources (Gas) is also working with relevant regulatory agencies like the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and Nigeriain Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) to ensure that the robust regulatory and fiscal incentives produced by the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) are seamlessly delivered. With respect to the immediate optimisation of our gas resources, all policy initiatives proposed by various stakeholders are being reviewed by my office to lend full ministerial support,” he added.
Ekpo urged experts and stakeholders in the industry present at the conference to focus on tackling the issues of energy transition, sustainability and security to guarantee that Nigeria maximises the value of its abundant gas resources while ensuring access to affordable, sustainable energy for all citizens.
