Mele Kyari, The Group Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, disclosed during the during his speech at CERAweek conference in Houston, United States on Tuesday that the Final Investment Decision for the $25bn Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline Project will be made in December 2024.
According to him, the project, which is at an advanced stage, will create a pipeline that will pass through thirteen African countries to Europe. Kyari stated that the NNPC Ltd’s focus is to build its capacity to deliver gas to the domestic market and beyond.
He pointed out that as a gas-endowed country, Nigeria must utilise its abundant gas resources to provide the alternative fuel that it needs.
“We understand the arguments towards attaining energy transition, but the cheapest way to achieve that is through gas. We see clear opportunities that gas creates. Today we are building a number of trunklines and other gas infrastructure that will supply gas to a number of gas networks,” Kyari said.
“Nigeria was fighting the menace of crude oil theft frontally and through the joint efforts of government and private security agencies, there have been some reasonable improvements in the restoration of the nation’s crude oil production.
He added, “It is an abnormal situation, but it is well within control. We were able to recover some of our production and build back confidence so that investors could bring in their money. We are also doing global advocacy to governments and institutions because stolen oil has to be taken to the market.”
He said an example of the improved security situation was when in 2022, Nigeria’s production fell below one million barrels per day but has now been restored to 1.7 million barrels per day.
As global calls for transition to cleaner energy fuels continue to grow, Kyari also advocated for a differentiated approach to attaining energy transition for the African continent.
