Nigeria struggles to realise gas potential
Africa's biggest economy is set to expand gas exports but domestic distribution remains a trickier proposition
Nigeria's domestic gas sector is struggling to capitalise fully on the potential of its sizeable gas reserves even though some big-ticket projects are emerging in the country. Seplat Petroleum's planned $700mn gas joint venture with the state-owned Nigeria Gas Company in Imo state is emblematic of what the government would like to happen more often – a high impact project run by a homegrown company. The Assa North-Ohaji South plant will process wet gas from Niger Delta crude producing blocks 21 and 53. It is slated to have a capacity of 300mn cubic feet a day (f3/d) with the first supply due in 2021. Another plant, run by Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), will process another 300m
Also in this section
10 March 2026
Eni’s director for global gas and LNG portfolio, Cristian Signoretto, discusses how demand will respond to rising LNG supply, and how the company is expanding its own gas and LNG operations through disciplined, capital-efficient investments
9 March 2026
Petroleum Economist analysis sees increases in output from Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Kazakhstan among others before region’s murky descent
9 March 2026
Energy sanctions are becoming an increasingly prominent tool of US foreign policy, with the country’s growth in oil and gas production allowing it to impose pressure on rivals without jeopardising its own energy security or that of its allies, argues Matthew McManus, a visiting fellow at the National Center for Energy Analytics
6 March 2026
The March 2026 issue of Petroleum Economist is out now!






