The Nigeria LNG Ltd (NLNG) has outlined key strategies that need to be implemented for Nigeria to achieve the objective of the Decade of Gas initiative.
Mr Philip Mshelbila, Managing Director, NLNG, made this known at the 5th Nigeria International Energy Summit (NIES) on Thursday in Abuja.
Mshelbila, represented by Mr Leye Falade, General Manager, Production, NLNG, commended the Federal Government for declaring Year 2021 to Year 2030 as the Decade of Gas initiative.
He said it was imperative for Nigeria to leverage on its abundant gas resources to resolve the socio-economic issues bedeviling the nation.
Outlining the strategies, Mshelbila said there was need to develop policies and laws that would encourage investment in the gas sector and unlock its potential.
He said there was also need to invest massively in gas infrastructure and strengthen the Nigeria’s Gas Master Plan to reposition the sector.
Mshelbila also called for the rehabilitation of the existing gas assets and pipelines to meet the increasing demand going forward.
“We need to look at the issue around our reserves. We are now at 209.5TCF proven reserves. We have 600TCF of unproven reserves but we need to develop it to know the true size of our reserves to attract investment.
“We also need to leverage our huge gas potential to accelerate power generation. Gas-to-Power is very important for us to solve lack of access to electricity,” he said.
Mshelbila said Small and Medium Enterprises should also be empowered to take advantage of the numerous opportunities that exist in the gas sector.
On his part, Mr Ed Ubong, President, Nigeria Gas Association, said the challenges facing the industry included multiple taxation, infrastructure deficit, security, pricing and regulatory framework.
He expressed optimism that the passage of the Petroleum Industry Act would address some of these challenges and attract more investment to the sector.
