NNPC Moves To Boost Gas Supply For CNG Operators Amid High Petrol Prices

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has announced plans to increase gas supply to operators in the Compressed Natural Gas value chain as part of efforts to cushion Nigerians from the impact of rising petrol prices.

The Executive Vice President, Gas, Power and New Energy, NNPC Ltd, Olalekan Ogunleye, disclosed this in Bangkok, Thailand, on the sidelines of the 2026 Gas Technology Exhibition and Conference, Gastech.

Ogunleye said the company was working with upstream gas producers and other stakeholders to increase supplies to the domestic market, with CNG operators receiving particular attention.

He explained that the move was intended to ensure that investors in CNG stations, mini-LNG plants and other gas-based projects had access to sufficient feedstock to sustain their operations.

According to him, the Gas Master Plan launched on January 30, 2026, was already recording progress, with about 791 million standard cubic feet of incremental gas supply achieved by the end of August.

He said the volume represented about 17 per cent of the Federal Government’s target of delivering 4.6 billion standard cubic feet of additional gas supply between the end of 2025 and 2030.

“The job is on. But more importantly, the government and the leadership of NNPC have taken adequate steps to ensure that anyone today that invests in the CNG value chain gets the gas they require,” Ogunleye said.

He added that domestic gas delivery obligations were being enforced to ensure that CNG and other gas-related investments received the required supplies.

Ogunleye said the CNG market had significant implications for the wider economy, particularly transportation and agriculture, noting that greater use of gas-powered vehicles could reduce the cost of transporting farm produce and other goods across the country.

He also stressed the need for stronger coordination across the gas value chain so that increased production would translate into greater domestic utilisation.

Speaking during a panel session at the conference, Ogunleye identified reliable gas supply and deliverability as critical factors for attracting investment into Nigeria’s gas industry.

He also listed access to financing and the selection of suitable business partners as important requirements for successful gas projects.

According to him, Nigeria should pursue domestic gas utilisation and exports simultaneously, rather than treating them as competing priorities.

He said NNPC’s gas business had a dual responsibility of generating foreign exchange through exports while ensuring that gas supported industrial development and domestic energy security.

Ogunleye said Nigeria was leveraging its more than 215 trillion cubic feet of proven gas reserves to drive industrialisation and strengthen its position in the global gas market.

He noted that the Gas Master Plan was designed to move the country towards a potential reserve base of more than 600 trillion cubic feet, while targeting national gas production of 10 billion standard cubic feet per day by 2027 and 12 billion standard cubic feet per day by 2030..

He added that Nigeria’s existing LNG infrastructure had established the country as a major global gas supplier, with Trains 1-6 producing about 22 million tonnes per annum, while Train 7 was expected to be completed in 2027.

Nigeria Targets Expanded Gas Exports
Also speaking at the conference, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, assured international gas consumers that Nigeria was prepared to increase production and exports amid disruptions to global energy supplies caused by the Strait of Hormuz crisis.

Ekpo said the Federal Government was taking steps to expand gas production, develop critical infrastructure and position Nigeria to meet growing domestic, regional and international demand.

He said the administration of President Bola Tinubu had introduced measures to create a more favourable investment climate in the gas sector, including executive orders aimed at supporting the implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act.

The minister, however, stressed that Nigeria’s vast gas reserves alone would not be enough to take advantage of opportunities in the international market.

He identified infrastructure, technology and financing as essential components for converting the country’s gas resources into economic value.

Ekpo said the government was supporting investment in gas infrastructure through initiatives including the gas infrastructure fund established under the Petroleum Industry Act.

He said Nigeria was already supplying gas to neighbouring countries such as Ghana and Togo, while exploring additional export opportunities.

According to him, the country was engaging with stakeholders on the Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline project, which is expected to facilitate gas supplies towards Morocco and the international market.

He also disclosed that Nigeria was negotiating with Algeria and Equatorial Guinea on further gas opportunities.

Ekpo identified the Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben (OB3) and Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) gas pipelines as critical projects that would connect gas-producing regions with markets across Nigeria.

He said the projects would improve domestic gas distribution while creating infrastructure capable of supporting regional exports.

The minister further highlighted the Decade of Gas initiative, saying about 20 projects had been identified under the programme to increase gas production and meet domestic and regional demand, with surplus volumes available for export.

He stressed that domestic consumers would remain the priority, noting that the government’s domestic delivery obligations require producers to satisfy local demand before exporting surplus gas.

Ekpo also said tax waivers had been granted on certain gas-related equipment to encourage investment in the sector.

On transportation, he said the government was expanding the use of CNG through the Presidential Initiative on CNG, including the deployment of CNG buses and refuelling stations across the country.

Meanwhile, Oman’s Minister of Energy and Minerals, Salim bin Nasser Al Auh, said the current global energy supply challenge was not primarily due to a shortage of oil and gas resources or technology, but difficulties in transporting supplies from production centres to consumers.

He said the Strait of Hormuz disruption had exposed weaknesses in global energy supply chains and reinforced the need for energy-producing countries to diversify supply routes and reduce dependence on strategic chokepoints.

Thailand’s Prime Minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, also warned that disruptions to global energy supplies were increasing household expenses, describing the high cost of energy as unsustainable and calling for greater investment in the sector.