FG urges  South Africa  to invest in  Nigeria’s USD50 billion  gas sector

LAGOS, Nigeria – The federal government today told  South Africa to take advantage of investment opportunities in Nigeria’s gas sector,which it  said is currently  worth $50billion.

Conveying the the invite to South Africa  in Lagos at the Nigeria – South Africa Chamber of Commerce  breakfast meeting, the Director of  Department of Petroleum Resources(DPR),Mr.Ladan Modecai,  explained that his action was ignited  by the conviction that  there is prospect for gas in Nigeria beyond its shores..

He disclosed that such investment prospects abound in the development of upstream gas fields with a total of 37.4 trillion cubic feet,Trans-Nigeria gas pipeline project , Gas Revolution Industrial Park at Ogidigben FTZ , three power plants for additional 3.2GW capacity,licensing and  establishment of several modular refineries , collocating a refinery within Kaduna Refinery and Petrochemical Company ,rehabilitation/upgrade of the  refineries ,revamp of Liquefied Petroleum Gas  and building of new CNG plants across the country  as well as pipeline and storage tank construction.

The DPR’s  boss,who was represented by its deputy manager, gas exploration and production,Joseph Ogunsola, said Nigeria must leverage its gas potentials to enlarge  the national cake for sustainable development of the country.

’’The National Gas Policy, Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialisation Program      and Gas Network Code are key enablers in charting our path towards Optimum Gas Development and Gas-Based Industrialisation.Most of the erstwhile constraints are being addressed in a holistic manner  through  government policies, reforms, and gas monetisation drive.Hitherto, absence of robust legislative, physical and commercial structures for gas and mono product nature of economy have militated against the achievement of gas utilisation

He  emphasized the need for stakeholders in the nation’s economy to shun blame game over the lingering incidence of gas flaring in the country,saying  Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialisation Program remains the best panacea to stop flaring in Nigeria

The director,who disclosed  that  there are over 170 flare locations spread across the Niger Delta ,reiterated that achieving zero flares in Nigeria by 2020 will require up to USD 3 billion in investments.He added that the Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialization Programme (NGFCP) will  ensure positive impact to communities in the Niger Delta  and monetize wasted gas resources in Nigeria

According to him:’’Elimination of flared gas is a win for all parties across Nigeria .There is need to  promote collaboration between private, public, and social sectors  with a view to ensuring a  commercially viable investments with positive returns  and minimise government’s  action to streamline implementation’’

He reiterated  federal government’s aspirations  to grow oil and gas  reserves  to 40 billion barrels  and 200 trillion cubic feet  by 2020  and  promote domestic gas supply sufficiency in the country

He added that the government is not leaving any stone unturned to boost domestic crude refining capacity by  50%, promote full price deregulation and  liberalisation  and create enabling environment for integrated petroleum products/ gas distribution networks .

In his remarks, Country Manager, Sasol Chemicals ,Oscar Mdluli, emphasized the need for Nigeria to  make  the abundance of its gas potential centerpiece of its economic growth.He also  lauded the  roles the DPR is playing  in  repositioning   the country’s gas sector.