The chief executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Saidu Mohammed, has called on the World Bank to back efforts aimed at raising about $22 billion to address Nigeria’s gas infrastructure shortfall and support wider gas development across Africa.
Mohammed made the appeal during the Decade of Gas Ministerial Roundtable organised in collaboration with the World Bank. He explained that the first phase of Nigeria’s gas decade focused on setting the groundwork needed to unlock the country’s gas resources, including improving supply, stimulating demand, expanding infrastructure, and establishing pricing systems that can sustain economic growth.
According to him, the next phase will prioritise execution. Progress, he said, will be seen through increased gas production, stronger investment inflows, expanded pipeline networks, and the development of additional gas processing facilities.
With domestic policies and frameworks now largely in place, Mohammed noted that Nigeria’s focus is shifting toward supplying gas beyond its borders to other African nations and international markets.
He outlined three major routes that could make this possible: the Africa Atlantic Gas Pipeline expected to link parts of Africa’s northern Atlantic coast to Europe; the Trans-Sahara Gas Pipeline extending the Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano pipeline across regions of West, Central and North Africa; and the development of liquefied natural gas supply systems along the Gulf of Guinea and other coastal areas.
Mohammed stressed that achieving these goals would require harmonised regulations among countries, structured systems for cross-border gas trade, reliable regional demand data, and consistent funding for large-scale infrastructure.
He added that firm gas supply agreements and expanded gas-to-power infrastructure across the continent are essential to ensure gas development translates into economic benefits.
The NMDPRA, he said, will continue to encourage gas infrastructure investment through appropriate pricing and tariff policies while promoting regional collaboration to advance Africa’s gas development agenda.
