TheCable

Mele Kyari, group chief executive officer (GCEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, says about $15 billion is needed within the next three years to build an in-country gas infrastructure.

He spoke on Tuesday during the CeraWeek Conference in Houston, United States.

Kyari said the country is building several gas trunklines for supply “within our network”.  

“Of course, it is very understandable. It is NNPC that is driving forward on this situation but it is clearly understandable,” Kyari said.

“Building the infrastructure means that upstream people can actually now produce the gas into our network.

“This synergy is working and perhaps within the next three to four years, I am sure that there will be clearly a mature in-country gas infrastructure. It is a process.

“What we see is that we probably need $10 billion to $15 billion within two to three years. That should cover the immediate gap.”

According to the GCEO, NNPC is scaling up, looking beyond providing gas in the domestic market, and leveraging the company’s relationships and partnerships to create gas for exports.

“And of course, when you look at that, probably for another incremental $10 to $12 billion in the short-term and creating opportunities for growth subsequent times,” he said. 

‘N25 BILLION GAS PROJECT’

Commenting on the Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline, Kyari said there is an ongoing engagement at a very advanced stage, to construct a pipeline that will pass through 13 African countries into Morocco, and subsequently into Europe. 

“What that would do is that it will create an integration among African countries. For a number of countries which have gas resources, that collaboration will enable them have access to those pipelines and our estimate is to see a $25 billion project,” he said.

“There is a clear line of sight around financing. And then the alternative route is to pass through the centre of our country all the way to the Sahara, into Algeria, and then into Europe. And this is very clear. It is practical.”

Kyari said the country does not have issues around availability of the gas resources, adding that transporting gas via pipelines across the region is a little slow but affordable process.