Nigerian executives push gas to fix broken power value chain
Energy leaders are calling for rapid infrastructure investment and pricing reforms to unlock Nigeria's vast gas reserves, a move critical to fixing the country's broken power sector and attracting private capital.
Nigerian energy executives are urging the prioritization of natural gas to overhaul the country’s failing power sector and drive industrialization. At a recent CEO conference in Lagos, industry leaders argued that deploying the nation's massive gas reserves is the only viable path to resolving a decades-long power crisis that leaves 140 million people in energy poverty.
The disconnect between resource wealth and power delivery presents a stark investment puzzle. Nigeria holds 2.71 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves, topping Algeria and Mozambique, according to 2025 data from the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission. Yet the country generates only 4,000 to 5,000 megawatts for its 220 million citizens, resulting in a per capita electricity allocation of just 46 kilowatts.
“The biggest resource that Africa’s most populous have is gas, which accounts for over 80 percent of the current power generation,” said Adegbite Falade, managing director of Aradel Holdings. He highlighted the severe deficit compared to regional peers: “If you compare that to South Africa, which has over 2,400 it’s just helps you to appreciate the gap that we have.” Falade stressed that expanding gas supply is essential for broader economic enablement.
The primary obstacle to growth is a fractured distribution network rather than resource scarcity. Effiong Okon, chief executive officer designate of Seplat Energy, urged stakeholders to “fix the value chain” and treat gas as an “industrialisation fuel.” “Five years from now, Nigeria should be running on gas,” Okon stated. “People complain about not having electricity, but the challenge is that the value chain is broken.”
Realizing this potential requires targeted capital deployment and decisive policy execution. Oladimeji Bashorun, chief executive officer of Energia, identified the AKK pipeline as a critical project capable of unlocking 2.2 billion cubic feet of gas. Beyond constructing physical pipelines, executives emphasized that commercial framework reforms are vital to address pricing gaps.
For investors, the appeal of Nigeria’s gas sector is clear, but execution risk remains high. Securing reliable payments for infrastructure investments is the only way to attract the private capital needed to end the energy deficit. Until structural bottlenecks are resolved and commercial frameworks guarantee returns, the country's vast gas wealth will continue to fall short of its industrial potential.
