Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) has stressed the need for the Federal Government to vigorously pursue the Decade of Gas agenda and facilitate and enabling environment to drive the required investment on about $20b needed to bridge the gas infrastructure gap in the country.
    
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, NLNG, Philip Mshelbila, at the just concluded Nigeria International Energy Summit (NIES), in Abuja, called for deliberate efforts in moving the needle on the Decade of Gas programme by the Federal Government.
   
Mshelbila, represented by the company’s Deputy Managing Director, Mr. Olakunle Osobu, stated that the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) has the potential to reshape both the industry landscape and address deficiencies in the country’s gas infrastructure.
  
He stated that the Federal Government had estimated that a yearly investment of $20b is required to bridge the gas infrastructure gap in Nigeria in the next 10 years.
  
Noting that Africa would require substantial investments to increase gas production and ensure the supply of significant volumes of natural gas to the world market in the future, he emphasised that Africa, especially Nigeria, must take essential steps to attract the necessary investment for enhancing the gas industry from exploration to production.  
     
Meanwhile, the Company’s General Manager, Finance, Mrs Fatima Adanan, at a separate forum, called for increased consumer awareness, especially in rural areas, on the use of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) to drive up utilisation and reduce associated risks from using biomass for cooking.
   
Adanan underscored the need for a campaign that aims to transition biomass users to LPG for cooking in the market. She said the goal is to increase LPG usage in Nigeria, thereby altering the current energy mix and achieving deeper penetration of LPG.

She stated that the total market consumption in Nigeria is about 1.5 million metric tons with potential to increase exponentially. Adananemphasised that NLNG was doing everything within its power to make the product available and affordable, selling the LPG at a competitive price with payments made in Naira.