Mele Kyari: Final investment decision on Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline to be made by December

Mele Kyari, group chief executive officer (GCEO), Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, says the final investment decision (FID) on the Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline (NMGP) project will be taken in December 2024.

According to a statement by Femi Soneye, NNPC’s spokesperson, Kyari spoke during a leadership dialogue session at the ongoing CERAWeek Conference in Houston, United States, on Tuesday.

As global calls for transition to cleaner energy fuels continue to grow, he advocated for a “differentiated” approach to attaining energy transition for the African continent.

The NNPC GCEO highlighted the challenges of energy transition in sub-Saharan Africa due to geographical differences and the interconnectedness of energy availability and security.

“The world has seen all the challenges thrown up recently by geopolitical events. It is clear that before the energy transition, countries must first attain security of energy supply in their countries,” Kyari said.

“You cannot talk about energy security when it is not even available. In most of sub-Saharan Africa, 70% of the population doesn’t have access to clean cooking fuels. Therefore, you must fill the supply gap first.”

Kyari said while renewable energy sources are being discussed as a solution to the energy transition gap, funding for these sources is also needed.

“If you insist on completing substitution today, then you have to deal with the problem of supply. For us today, the transition must be differentiated,” he said.

“Even if Africa decides to switch off its fossil fuels, it only accounts for just about 3% of the entire global emissions.”

He said NNPC’s current focus is to build its capacity to supply gas to the domestic market and beyond.

The NNPC GCEO added that, as a gas-rich country, Nigeria must utilise its abundant gas resources to supply the alternative fuel it requires.

“We understand the arguments towards attaining energy transition, but the cheapest way to achieve that is through gas,” Kyari said.

“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 there is an ongoing engagement on the NMGP, which is at an advanced stage, to build a pipeline that will connect Europe with thirteen African nations.

‘NNPC CRUCIAL TO NIGERIA’S ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT’

He said the NNPC is pivotal to Nigeria’s resource management and economic development.

According to Kyari, the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, has transformed the oil and gas industry — transforming NNPC into a fully commercial entity accountable to shareholders and on the pathway to be quoted on the stock exchange. 

Kyari said Nigeria is actively combating crude oil theft through government and private security efforts.

“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,” he said.

”We are also doing global advocacy for governments and institutions because stolen oil has to be taken to the market.”

The GCEO said an example of the improved security situation was when, in 2022, Nigeria’s oil production fell below 1 million barrels per day, before rising to 1.7 million barrels per day.