Nigeria, Spain pledge to deepen bilateral ties on gas development

The federal government says Spain will play a critical role in providing foreign direct investment (FDI) for Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.

Timipre Sylva, minister of state for petroleum resources, spoke on the partnership bewteent Nigeria and Spain on Thursday in Abuja when he received Jose Albarese, Spanish foreign minister, and other top officials and investors from the Europian nation.

He said the bilateral meeting between the two countries dwelt on Spain’s investment on security, technology, and development of Nigerian gas resources.

The minister said Spain has been a partner and customer of the Nigerian Liquified Natural Gas (NLNG) company from inception.

Further describing Spain as one of the first countries to visit Nigeria in 2023, Sylva said the meeting demonstrated the importance of the relationship between the two countries.

He noted that Nigeria required investments in the oil and gas sector, being the core of the economy.

Sylva said the identified key investment firms and potential investors on the table have opened up significant opportunities for Nigeria in light of the mini-bid round already initiated by the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).

“These are people that they would have ordinarily gone to meet in their country before any bid round, but in this case, the potential investors are here by themselves, so you can see why this meeting is very important,” added said.

“As a country, we need a lot of investments, we need foreign direct investment (FDI) and Spain is one of the countries that we believe can give us a lot of that investment to help in development.”

Sylva said Nigeria currently has proven gas reserves up to over 200 trillion cubic feet (TCF), and with focus on the exploration for additional gas, Nigeria can increase these reserves to up to 600 TCF.

He further he said Europe also required gas currently, hence the Nigerian energy transition programme should pay more attention to the development of gas as well, noting that it was on the premise that some sources were calling for a quick switch to renewables.

“And as a country we felt that we are going to move on the transition train through the instrumentality of gas,” he said. 

“Spain is in the position to also support us in this area of security because insecurity is one of the major problem facing the industry today. So we are going to be looking up to Spain.

“And then of course, Spain will also look up to us for further supply of gas. They are also interested in the pipeline that we are developing to Morocco. I believe that is going to settle the issue of vessel flight from Nigeria to Europe.”

Albarese, on his part, commented on Nigeria’s capabilities and Spain’s interest in promoting investment opportunities in the oil and gas sector of the economy, adding that Nigeria was its first supplier of oil and gas.

The Spanish minister told Sylva that he was pleased with the revolution and the sector’s opportunities, and that cooperation between both nations, especially from Spanish investors, would yield gains.

“Nigeria has been a strategic partner to Spain and has proven once again as a trusted partner in the complex setting of global energy market,” he said.

The meeting had in attendance, Mele Kyari, group chief executive officer (CEO), Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited; Ahmed Farouk, CEO, Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA); Gbenga Komolafe, CEO, Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC); Philip Mshelbila, managing director, Nigerian Liquified Natural Gas (NLNG), among others.