Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru has disclosed that the federal government is targeting 10 per cent of the world’s market share in traded Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) as it intensifies gas capturing, utilization and monetization.
Explaining more at a session while addressing the 27th World Gas Conference (WGC) in Washington DC, United States on “The Role of Gas in Power Generation” under the theme “Fuelling the Future”, Baru said “Federal Government had intervened to drastically reduce gas flare from 25 per cent down to 10 per cent, even as it had stepped up efforts to stimulate gas utilisation and monetisation.
“We are focused on jumpstarting and sustaining gas supply to support a rapid growth in power generation, re-positioning Nigeria as the regional hub for gas-based industries such as fertilizer, petrochemicals, methanol, Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), as well as leveraging our enormous reserves position to strengthen our footprints in high value gas export through LNG and regional gas pipelines.
Baru told delegates at the triennial gas gathering that with emerging gas markets and the need to generate more power across Africa’s Sub-Saharan region, there abound an unprecedented investment opportunity in the gas sector for the country.
According to him, Nigeria is now focused on expanding its existing 22 million metric tonnes per annum (MTPA) Nigerian LNG plant with additional 8MTPA from its proposed Train 7, a development that will significantly increase global power generation capacity.
Baru recalled that to give bite to the policy direction, “the Federal Government recently approved three-pronged reforms in the gas sector which included domestic gas supply obligation, gas pricing policy and regulation as well as gas infrastructure blueprint.
