Yemisi Izuora
The Nigerian Gas Association, NGA, has advised government to take proactive steps to accelerate the process of concluding the Petroleum Industry Governance and Fiscal Bills, and signing them into law, to attract investment in the oil and gas sector.
Speaking at a press conference in Lagos yesterday to announce the upcoming Biannual International Gas Conference of the Association, NGA president Engr. Dada Thomas, said the Association, has come a long way in its quest to contribute to the development of the Nigerian gas industry, and to ensure the right policy environment for the realization of this goal, the NGA proactively initiated programs and activities to engage government policy makers and the investing public.
According to Thomas, At no time in the history of our industry has natural gas been poised to play a more important role in our country and sub Saharan African energy picture. The “natural gas revolution” is the most significant energy thing in decades of the region development.
The implications of this revolution, with a particular focus on what it means for West Africa region is important for our industry and the region economy to grasp.
He said that the industry in the past decade has developed and perfected the technology needed to unlock gas from places previously assumed to be out of reach, and that natural gas will be a far bigger player in meeting the country’s future energy challenge than had previously assumed.
But to unlock the potentials, the right environment should be created by government through addressing lapses in the existing laws, by ensuring that the PIGB is accented to by the president.
Thomas, said current liquidity in the sector is creating unpleasant situation and may worsen if gas suppliers are not paid for gas supplied to the power sector.
He stated that the benefits of natural gas in meeting the country’s future energy needs are well-documented, and that it’s supply is increasingly abundant and diverse, which means greater energy security.
Outlining its benefits, the NGA president said, “It is a clean-burning ally to renewables like wind and solar. Generating electricity from gas also requires relatively low capital investment. And it’s highly flexible. It can be converted to liquid fuels, transported easily, and used to make other products.
For a sector with billions worth of investment opportunities, we are positive of growth in the economy and the potentials for growth in such areas as; LNG Plants, NGL Plants, Gas Transmission Pipelines, Gas Processing facilities, Gas based manufacturing industries, Pipe milling and fabrication yards and Financial services that exist in the gas sector”.
He however, pointed out that turning natural gas into a profit-making venture requires huge investments in infrastructure that address the five component areas of gas availability, gas affordability, deliverability, funding, and the legal and regulatory framework.
“Government and operators alike recognize that the first step is to provide a legal and regulatory framework that will enable the removal of all the other obstacles. As we all know, the passed gas policy proposes reforms so profound that almost every new investment is on hold awaiting the resolution of the questions raised by this legislation”, he said.
Speaking on the coming NGA bi-annual gas conference holding between 14th and 16th October 2018 at the Transcorp Hilton Abuja with the theme; ”Shift to Gas Economy: Pace and scale of innovation in the west African sub region” Thomas said the forum will provide a veritable platform to gauge the current status and the way forward for this all important Bill which has dragged the sector down for way too long.
He said, while the global debate about evolving business models for an evolving global gas business continues to grab the spotlight, closer to home, the discourse about the role of gas in Africa’s energy mix particularly Nigeria needs to continue. “With this in mind, we at NGA have continued to ask ourselves the questions on the current state of the natural gas industry in Nigeria in addition to evaluating the potential for its future development across the West African region.
Even with obvious challenges, companies are making significant strategic investments in gas pipelines and production to power Independent Power Plants (IPPs) and industrial customers and it is estimated that about 1,000 MW of IPP capacity is presently idle due to a lack of gas delivery. As the market moves towards the concept of “willing buyer, willing seller” and the government continues to make the investment environment more attractive, the country has massive prospects.
We believe, Nigeria’s gas reserves could potentially be as high as 600Tcf (compared to the current proven level of 192Tcf) if deliberate steps are taken to explore for gas as opposed to coincidental discovery during oil exploration”, he noted.