ABUJA — The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) has set a strategic mandate to expand Nigeria’s proven natural gas reserves from the current 210.5 trillion cubic feet (TCF) to an estimated potential of 600 TCF, while driving national daily output to 12 billion cubic feet per day (BCF/D) by 2030.
The ambitious roadmap—anchored under the NNPC Gas Master Plan 2026—aims to mobilize $60 billion in private sector and institutional investments across exploration, processing infrastructure, domestic pipeline distribution, and LNG export corridors.
Under the phased timeline, NNPC Ltd targets ramping up production from current levels of ~7.4 BCF/D to 10 BCF/D by 2027, before surpassing the 12 BCF/D milestone by the turn of the decade. Speaking on the strategy, Executive Vice President (Gas, Power & New Energy), Olalekan Ogunleye, emphasized that global energy supply disruptions and shipping constraints around the Strait of Hormuz have heightened international demand for reliable African LNG suppliers, creating a prime commercial window for Nigerian gas monetization.
Strategic Pillars of the NNPC Gas Expansion Plan
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Reserve Expansion & Incentives: Deploying commercial exploration incentives under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021 to convert Nigeria’s 390 TCF of unproven upside potential into validated 600 TCF reserves.
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Production Scale-Up: A 62 percent increase in daily production between 2026 and 2030, raising output from 7.4 BCF/D to 12 BCF/D to feed domestic gas-to-power and industrial manufacturing clusters.
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Capital Mobilization: Partnering with international financiers and infrastructure developers at the upcoming Gas Investment Forum (GIF) to convert project pipelines into bankable, shovel-ready assets.
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Global LNG Opportunities: Positioning Nigeria as a primary alternative gas supplier to European and Asian markets amid Middle Eastern geopolitical volatility and supply chain friction.
