FG woos investors with licences to expand domestic gas utilisation

• NMDPRA warns operators over illegal operation • Says diesel consumption up by 900% in 10 years

TFederal Government, yesterday, urged private investors to apply for licenses that would expand domestic utilisation of gas in Nigeria and address growing climate challenges.

Speaking in Abuja at a conference, organised by the Nigerian Midstream Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority ( NMDPRA), stakeholders noted that gas consumption remains dismal, despite over 208 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves in the country.

Coming as the Federal Government mulls removal of fuel subsidy, NMDPRA disclosed that the country can no longer rely on white product, as consumption of diesel went from six million litres in 2012 to 15 million litres in 2022, recording a 900 per cent increase.

Authority Chief Executive,

Farouk Ahmed, said Federal Government has put in place initiatives and policy frameworks, including National Gas Expansion Programme ( NGEP) and the Decade of Gas Programme ( DOGP).

According to him, the Petroleum Industry Act ( 2021) has also established within the Authority the Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund, to catalyse gas investments. Wishing participants a fruitful deliberation, Ahmed said: “These efforts are yielding significant results, yet more collaborations and interventions are needed to improve domestic gas utilisation.

“The Authority, empowered by the Act, is poised to enable growth of the industry. The 12 regulations recently gazetted unlock golden opportunities and signpost the pathway to energy security.

“It is, therefore, our hope that this engagement will create necessary awareness and make compelling case for industry operators to foster a compliance culture, which, alone, guarantees safer and sustainable facilities.”

He added: “This engagement sets the objective to enlighten end- user category on the need to urgently obtain requisite petroleum storage license and engender transition from white products to gas, at the last mile.

“The Authority’s 12 gazetted regulations define the licensing regimes, procedures and standards for handling petroleum products, which, when breached, pose increased risks. In addition, gas, as transition fuel, represents a cleaner and more cost- effective energy source.

“We encourage operators and businesses to take advantage of evolving opportunities in the gas value chain for sustainable business growth by positioning their energy needs to embrace gas derivatives ( LNG, LPG, CNG, auotogas, propane and butane, to hedge against future global uncertainties to diesel supply.”