Nigeria’s gas reserves enough for 9 new power plants by 2037

While Nigeria’s vast gas reserves have never been in doubt, investors have always agonised over the government's policy

Timipre Sylva, Nigeria’s minister of state for Petroleum Resources has indicated that Nigeria could add about 6,000MW of power generation by 2037 as the gas reserves are enough to support constructing new plants.

“Our proven gas reserves are sufficient to cover current demand levels and support plans for the construction of nine new gas-fired power plants with a combined name-plate capacity of nearly 6,000 MW by 2037,” Sylva said in a speech at the Seplat Energy Plc Summit in Abuja last Thursday.

The minister said this validates gas as a viable and transformational fuel for industrial development.

President Muhammadu Buhari who is also the Minister of Petroleum Resources declared 2021 – 2030 as the “Decade of Gas”. Sylva said the declaration provides the fulcrum for focusing effort and resources required at making gas the centrepiece of Nigeria’s economy by 2030.

The minister said that gas was at the heart of Nigeria’s energy transition and represents the first step in the journey to renewables away from oil.

“Already, we have declared that gas is our transition fuel, and also represents a destination fuel, as we envisage that it will be part of our energy mix by 2050, given the vast resources that can be commercialised and utilised.

He also alluded to “generous incentives” proposed in the Petroleum Industry Act 2021 to enable the development, distribution, penetration and utilisation of gas.

In June, Sarki Auwalu, managing director and CEO of the Department of Petroleum Resources had said that Nigeria’s natural gas reserves now stood at 206.53 Trillion Cubic Feet (TCF), from 202.TCF.

Of this figure, Associated gas which represents gas discovered while drilling for oil stood at 100.73 TCF while Non-Associated Gas reserves stood at 105.80 TCF.

While Nigeria’s vast gas reserves have never been in doubt, investors have always agonised over the government’s policy, especially on the refusal to allow a liberalised gas pricing regime that has failed to unlock investments.

Earlier this year, the Nigerian Gas Association issued a communique calling for the removal of price controls and concessional Gas tariffs for sections of the market that are critical to achieving overall economic growth objectives.

Isaac Anyaogu

Isaac Anyaogu is an Assistant editor and head of the energy and environment desk. He is an award-winning journalist who has written hundreds of reports on Nigeria’s oil and gas industry, energy and environmental policies, regulation and climate change impacts in Africa. He was part of a journalist team that investigated lead acid pollution by an Indian recycler in Nigeria and won the international prize - Fetisov Journalism award in 2020. Mr Anyaogu joined BusinessDay in January 2016 as a multimedia content producer on the energy desk and rose to head the desk in October 2020 after several ground breaking stories and multiple award wining stories. His reporting covers start-ups, companies and markets, financing and regulatory policies in the power sector, oil and gas, renewable energy and environmental sectors He has covered the Niger Delta crises, and corruption in NIgeria’s petroleum product imports. He left the Audit and Consulting firm, OR&C Consultants in 2015 after three years to write for BusinessDay and his background working with financial statements, audit reports and tax consulting assignments significantly benefited his reporting. Mr Anyaogu studied mass communications and Media Studies and has attended several training programmes in Ghana, South Africa and the United States

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