Nigeria has to invest $200 billion in gas infrastructure within ten years in order to supply the product to all of Africa and beyond., says the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI).
As NEITI’s executive secretary, Ogbonnaya Orji presented the 2021–2023 reports on oil, gas, and solid minerals to the Senate committee on public accounts in Abuja on Monday, she said that Nigeria lacked the infrastructure needed to utilise its gas resources.
Speaking in Abuja on Monday while presenting the 2021–2023 reports on oil, gas, and solid minerals to the senate committee on public accounts, Ogbonnaya Orji, NEITI’s executive secretary, said Nigeria lacks the necessary infrastructure to harness its gas resources.
“Based on NEITI’s findings, Nigeria needs to invest at least $20 billion per year into gas infrastructure for a period of ten years,” Orji said.
“The only thing that Qatar Energy does is gas processing through required infrastructure.
“So, in Nigeria, what we need, is to invest in gas infrastructure to evacuate gas. Our study shows that we need an initial investment of $20 billion annually for 10 years to be able to generate the kind of gas infrastructure required to provide gas for the whole of Africa and beyond.
“This of course, will require construction of gas pipelines along and across, West African sub-region, and beyond which is a huge expenditure.”
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The Senate committee also expressed dissatisfaction over the solid minerals sector’s poor revenue generation, which contributes less than 1 per cent to Nigeria’s gross domestic product (GDP).
Aliyu Ahmed, chairman of the committee, described the situation as “ridiculous and unacceptable”.
The committee also queried NEITI’s report for omitting major solid mineral-producing states like Nasarawa, Zamfara, Kebbi, Plateau, and Bauchi, while listing only Ogun, Osun, Kogi, Edo, Ebonyi, Rivers, Cross River, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Ahmed stated that the situation cannot go on and that the industry needs to be completely restructured.
