Nigeria may require up to $22bn in fresh investments to deliver planned gas pipeline infrastructure under the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited’s Gas Master Plan 2026, as the Federal Government intensifies efforts to unlock the country’s vast but underutilised gas resources.
The NNPC Limited Gas Master Plan 2026, revealed that current gas transportation infrastructure in development plans could require as much as $22bn, driven largely by the scale of new pipeline projects required to deepen domestic utilisation and expand export capacity.
The plan was officially unveiled on January 30, 2026, at the NNPC Towers in Abuja, at a ceremony attended by top government officials, industry executives, and sector stakeholders.
The 2026 master plan builds on the original Nigerian Gas Master Plan of 2008, which articulated a long-term vision for gas utilisation but was hampered by infrastructure deficits, funding constraints, and execution gaps.
According to the document, 30 priority gas projects are expected to be completed within the next three years, forming the backbone of Nigeria’s near-term gas expansion, while another 30 projects are projected to come onstream over the next decade, significantly strengthening gas supply to power plants, industries, households, and export terminals.
Unlike its predecessor, the new plan places strong emphasis on scaling gas production, expanding critical infrastructure, and strengthening market linkages across liquefied natural gas, power generation, industrial offtakers, pipelines, and compressed natural gas.
It sets ambitious production targets of over 10 billion standard cubic feet of gas per day by 2027 and 12bcf/d by 2030, while seeking to unlock more than $60bn in new investments across the gas value chain.
The document under the sub-theme, “Nigeria’s Tremendous Gas Potential Still Needs To Be Unlocked,” further highlighted the paradox of Nigeria’s gas sector.
It revealed that Nigeria holds Africa’s largest proven gas reserves at about 210 trillion cubic feet, ranking among the top 10 gas-rich countries globally, yet it sits only 16th in global gas production, underscoring the scale of untapped potential.
The reserves comprise about 48 per cent associated gas, estimated at 101TCF, and 52 per cent non-associated gas, estimated at 110TCF.
In 2025, Nigeria’s gas production stood at roughly 7.5bcf/d, but only about 60 per cent of this, around 4.6bcf/d, was commercialised, with over 10 per cent flared, making Nigeria the seventh-largest gas-flaring country in the world, while nearly 30 per cent was reinjected.
Over the last five years, commercialised gas production has hovered between 4.1bcf/d and 4.7bcf/d, though supply to the domestic market has improved by about six per cent, rising from 1.6bcf/d in 2021 to about 2.0bcf/d, with further increases expected from recent and anticipated final investment decisions.
The document read, “Nigeria possesses vast gas resources. It boasts the largest proven reserves in Africa with 210 trillion cubic feet and ranks in the top 10 countries with the largest gas reserves worldwide, showing huge potential to meet domestic demand and become a key global player. Despite this impressive ranking, Nigeria only comes 16th in production globally. This highlights. significant untapped potential for growth and investment to unlock these gas resources.
“Nigeria’s large reserves are composed of -48 per cent associated gas reserves (101TCF) and -52 per cent non-associated gas reserves (110TCF). Nigeria’s 2025 gas production stands at ~7.5bcf/d. However, commercialised gas production. is ~60 per cent of this at 4.6bcf/d. Over 10 per cent of gas is flared (7th largest in the world), and -30 per cent is used as reinjected gas.
“Over the last 5 years, commercialised gas production has hovered between 4.1bcf/d and 4.7bcf/d. Commercial gas production has recovered, and supply to the domestic market has increased. by -6 per cent from 1.6bcf/d to 2.0bcf/d since 2021, with additional volumes expected to go to the domestic market in the coming years based on recent and expected FIDs.”
The plan noted that compliance with Domestic Gas Delivery Obligations has improved significantly, rising from about 50 per cent five years ago to nearly 70 per cent in 2024.
However, it warned that gas demand is projected to exceed supply in all scenarios by 2030, signalling an urgent need to incentivise upstream gas development, particularly non-associated and deep-water gas projects, while prioritising demand segments with the highest economic impact.
Domestic gas demand is expected to remain driven by power generation, gas-based industries and the commercial sector, while export demand will continue to be dominated by LNG, which accounts for about 70 per cent of gas exports, with NLNG historically responsible for over 95 per cent of those volumes.
Nigeria currently has over 2,500 kilometres of gas pipelines, but the master plan identifies major expansion needs through projects such as the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano pipeline, the OB3 pipeline, and other strategic transmission links designed to improve nationwide gas distribution.
It stated, “On the gas transportation network, Nigeria boasts of over 2,500KM of pipelines, with plans to expand through major projects like the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano and OB3 pipelines, among others, which will enhance gas distribution across the country. Current gas pipeline infrastructure in development plans could require up to $22bn investment,” reflecting the scale of capital required to connect supply hubs to domestic and export markets.
“Nigeria has had a range of ambitious natural gas development plans and policies over the last two decades. Despite these programmes and policies, there is still a need for focused interventions to drive more impact. Intensified investments are needed to stimulate gas supply growth, particularly for non-associated gas and deepwater gas developments.
“The viability of the on-grid power value chain also has to be strengthened to meet power demand. Also, to continue to attract more investment, infrastructure developments must be made more attractive to financiers with incentives and clear visibility over likely returns,” the report stated.
Providing further details, the Focal Person of the NNPC Gas Master Plan Implementation Assurance Team, Ekpei Ukam, said the new master plan is anchored on clearly defined levers designed to drive commercial viability and scale.
Speaking during a panel session on the NNPC Gas Master Plan session at the just concluded Nigerian International Energy Summit themed, “Driving Exponential Growth Through Value-Adding Partnerships and Cost Efficiency,” Ukam explained that a key shift under the plan is the move towards market-led gas development.
He said the NNPC was deliberately moving away from a fragmented, project-by-project approach to gas development in favour of an integrated gas hub model, which he noted would enable better coordination, improve commerciality, and optimise costs across the gas value chain.
According to him, the master plan identifies about 23 existing gas hubs across the country, which will now be developed in a more coordinated manner.
He said, “I will speak to a few leaders who guide this plan. One of them is market-led gas development and commerciality. So we are moving away from a fragmented project-by-project approach and adopting an integrated gas hub concept. And under this concept, the gas master plan recommends about 23 hubs. These hubs already exist. And so, we are now seeking to develop gas in a more coordinated way.
“And in that way, we can optimise costs and assure increased value. Another lever in this plan is a balanced consideration for the domestic and export markets. And what that means is that in the gas hub concept, we have identified flexibilities around hubs that can either go to the domestic market or go to export,” Ukam said.
He added that the plan deliberately prioritises demand growth in gas-based industries, noting that, “We know this will transform the economy, while also shoring up supply to the export market to attract gas dollars from LNG.”
Ukam noted that, unlike previous plans, the Gas Master Plan 2026 benefits from the clarity provided by the Petroleum Industry Act. “Other plans were developed before the PIA, so there was no clear regulatory framework. Today, the NNPC gas master plan is blessed with a regulation that clearly defines how the sector operates,” he said.
He described the plan as a bridge between Nigeria’s Decade of Gas initiative and the country’s long-term ambition to position gas as the fuel of choice for economic development.
Ukam also disclosed that an implementation assurance framework has been established to track delivery. “This framework ensures that we monitor work programmes across our joint venture partners and track upstream infrastructure that will deliver gas to its final destination,” he said.
He added that the presidential mandate to achieve 10bcf/d by 2027 and 12bcf/d by 2030 was a key driver of the plan. “The gas master plan demonstrates a clear and deliberate pathway to achieving these objectives. On the whole, it will serve as the roadmap for developing Nigeria’s gas sector and take us to where our peers are globally in terms of gas development,” Ukam stated.
Nigeria eyes cost-reflective gas prices to unlock investment
The Nigerian government is signalling a major shift in its energy policy as it explores a transition toward cost-reflective pricing within the domestic gas sector. With this move, the government hopes to attract much-needed private investment, eliminate mounting debts in the gas-to-power value chain, and ultimately stabilise the country’s energy supply.
Ekperikpe Ekpo, Minister of Petroleum Resources (Gas), stated this while giving his ministerial remarks at the Nigerian International Energy Summit in Abuja on Thursday. This development, he said, aligns with government plans to move Nigeria from ‘exporting molecules to exporting value,’ thereby accelerating the country’s evolution into a competitive, industrial economy.
The Minister, noting the importance of gas to the Nigerian economy, disclosed that alongside ensuring cost-reflective pricing, efforts were ongoing to simplify licensing processes, grow local content, and shorten project delivery timelines.
He said, “Today, gas fuels over 70 percent of Nigeria’s on-grid electricity generation. But to power our industrialisation ambitions, we are strengthening the entire gas-to-power chain. Our strategic focus includes long-term, commercially viable gas supply agreements for power plants; sustained implementation of the NEC-approved debt resolution framework; and the expansion of critical infrastructure—pipelines, processing plants, and metering systems.
“Beyond power, gas is the lifeblood of industry—supporting agriculture, manufacturing, petrochemicals, and transportation. We are promoting the development of gas-based industrial hubs such as the Brass Gas Hub; wider adoption of LPG and CNG for households, transport, and SMEs; and small-scale modular gas commercialisation to empower entrepreneurs and host communities.”
He also explained that, working closely with the power sector, the government has achieved the long-awaited resolution of legacy debts owed to gas producers, following Presidential approval and ratification by the National Economic Council.
This resolution, according to him, has restored confidence in the domestic gas market and is unlocking new investments in gas supply for power generation.
Also speaking, Saidu Mohammed, Authority Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), noted that few companies operating power plants in the country have bankable commercial gas sales agreements.
For him, driving a viable gas sector requires the promotion of the commercial side of the industry. He emphasised that efforts must be channelled toward ensuring gas resources are used to develop not only the energy market but also the catalysts for all other sectors of the economy.
“And when I say all other sectors, I mean it. From agriculture to our social lives, all can be driven by this single commodity,” Mohammed said.
“We have been talking of gas-to-power since I was a younger engineer… unfortunately, in Nigeria, we are still hovering around the same levels. I think it was the first or second year of the Obasanjo regime, we celebrated 4,500 megawatts of electricity generated. Twenty-five years later, we are still hovering around 5,000 megawatts. This is not because there is no generating capacity—there is up to 13,000 megawatts—but there is a constraint in terms of wheeling capacity.”
“The fundamental question is, every time you hear ‘no gas, no gas, no gas,’ I ask the power plants: how much gas did you buy that was not delivered? When we ask those questions, you hardly get an answer. I think we have no more than one or two power plants today that have bankable commercial gas sales agreements. If we don’t move the commerciality, we will not move those molecules. Gas is a commodity that is sold before you even start drilling for it. If there is no buyer, we don’t look for it,” he said.
Speaking further, Mohammed said that gas is not just an energy commodity but an economic enabler and a critical factor needed to provide a sustainable electricity supply.
He added that the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) considers the contribution of gas to key sectors when setting prices. The Authority sets prices for power, adds 50 cents for gas-based industries, and caps prices for commercial users.
“Without power, there is no industrial growth. And without industrial growth, there is no economic development. That is what gas is supposed to do—revitalise this economy of ours,” he added
Unlocking Nigeria’s Gas Potential: The $60 Billion Master Plan
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