NNPC’s AKK Gas Pipeline Project To Be Delivered Before December, Says FG
… OB3 Gas Project Hits 93% Completion
…Over 22 Projects Identified To Drive ‘Decade Of Gas’ Initiative
HOUSTON: Nigeria’s Minister for State Petroleum (Gas) has said that the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) pipeline project will be delivered before December, while the Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben Gas Pipeline (OB3) gas project that would feed the lines is already at 93 per cent completion.
He also said that the government is willing to de-risk investors in the gas midstream/downstream sector as part of a move to drive the country’s energy transition.
The gas minister said this during a session at the 2025 CERAWeek covered by THE WHISTLER.
The session explored opportunities and challenges that lie ahead of Africa and the strategies that can be deployed to balance and attract investment, with the expectation to meet the needs of the population and drive growth across industries.
The session featured panellists including the Head of the Petroleum Affairs Directorate, Namibian Ministry of Mines and Energy, Maggy Shino; the Senior Vice President, OCP Group, Naoufal Mahdar; and the Chief Executive Officer of Rand Merchant Bank, Namibia, Philip Chapman.
Ekpo told investors and policymakers that Nigeria is committed to energy security, adding that the declaration of the decade of gas from 2021 to 2030 is clear evidence.
“If you have a bankable project, the government can partner with you or de-risk any investor that comes into that space, and for our country, within the last year, as the Chairman of the Board, we issued out up to N122bn to investors in the sector. There are about six companies.
“If you are an investor and you want to come in and invest, in the midstream/downstream sector of it, the Nigerian government is ready to partner with you to de-risk such an investor in financing the project.”
The minister, who also serves as chairman of the Decade of Gas Initiative, explained that the government has identified over 22 projects with the decade of Gas Initiative.
He said the projects are gas generation and infrastructure development, which would ensure the distribution of gas within the country and across the region.
Ekpo said, “And of course, after the gas, we need the distribution of the gas, which brings to mind, the AKK gas pipeline in the country. When I took over, we were about 50 per cent but now, there is hope that before the end of this year, AKK will be completed.”
The $2.8bn and 384-mile natural gas pipeline is part of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company’s flagship gas project to help in the transportation of gas from the southern to the northern part of Nigeria.
“The OB3 is equally very important. That one has reached 93 per cent completion, which will be a game-changer. This is where you have a connection of gas from the West and the East, putting together and channelling them into the AKK Gas pipeline,” said Ekpo.
Another crucial project for the energy transition plan is the $13bn Trans-Saharan gas pipeline from Nigeria to Algeria.
He said, “There is a negotiation for a pipeline with Algeria through Niger. This is the pipeline that will feed that corridor.
“Under the decade of gas, we are driving the distribution of LPG to various homes to reduce the use of too much firewood and kerosene to reduce carbon emissions.
“Natural gas is used to drive power generation within the country and boost industrialisation. A lot has happened in the last year. We have moved faster than what we were thinking.”
According to him, Nigeria is focused on meeting the domestic supply, its neighbours, and exports to Europe.
He said, “Within West Africa, we are supplying gas to Benin Republic, Ghana, and Togo to ensure energy security, and we are in conversation with Equatorial Guinea to move Nigerian gas to Equatorial Guinea to their LNG plant for processing and export.
“We are equally negotiating with Morocco to take advantage of the existing gas pipeline from Nigeria through the West African Coast. What we are operating now is 24 inches; we are thinking of enlarging it to 48 inches.
“That engagement has been ongoing between NNPC and their (Morocco) national oil company.”
NNPC’s AKK Gas Pipeline Project To Be Delivered Before December, Says FG is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
