DPR: We received $500m gas investment proposals in one year

The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) says it has received over $500 million gas development investment proposals since the implementation of the Nigerian Gas Transportation Network Code (NGTNC).

The NGTNC was inaugurated on August 10, 2020, by Timipre Sylva, minister of state for petroleum resources.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Sarki Auwalu, DPR director, said on Tuesday that the network code had improved investors’ confidence in the evolving domestic gas market.

It is a specialised set of rules developed by the DPR to guide the implementation of fair and non-discriminatory open access for gas transportation in Nigeria.

“Confidence of investors across the domestic gas value chain has shown positive trend through specific requests for DPR’s support for gas supply to the tune of over 500 million standard cubic feet per day and investments of over $500 million,” Auwalu said.

“The network code investment areas that the DPR has received proposals on include power generation, ammonia for fertiliser, methanol plant and domestic liquefied natural gas.

“Others are virtual pipeline systems, new gas hubs and the establishment of a Nigerian Gas Trading Exchange.”

According to him, the NGTNC has also improved domestic gas market linkage between downstream demand points and upstream gas supply opportunities.

He said the construction of gas pipelines across the country and the increased investment brought by the NGTNC would create job opportunities for Nigerians.

Auwalu said it had also increased the activities of investors like gas shippers, suppliers, agents on the network and had further promoted gas availability, accessibility, affordability and awareness.

He added that the network code had improved transparency and predictability in gas trading, thereby stimulating the growth of the gas business and deepening the performance of the Nigerian gas value chain.

The federal government is currently targeting 40 billion barrels of oil reserves by 2025, increasing its gas reserve to 210 trillion cubic feet (tcf) by 2025 and 220tcf by 2030.