Nigeria Lose N1.2 Trillion to Cushion Gas Export in 10 Years

According to the Statistical Review of World Energy published by the Energy Institute, Nigeria has paid N1.2 trillion to cushion gas exports throughout this period.

The recently released data, which was released in collaboration with KPMG, states that Nigeria's natural gas exports settled at 28 billion cubic meters in 2012 but were later reduced to 20 billion cubic meters in 2022, leading to exports losing 8 billion cubic meters.

This decline occurred when the FG announced that 2020 and beyond would be a Decade of Gas to ramp up local gas consumption and increase gas reserves through investment in exploration activities.

According to Hebrew Energy, a billion cubic meters of natural gas is about $183 million. Converting the N8 billion cubic meters lost by the country in a decade, it settles at exactly $1.46 billion (N1.2bn, using the 802/$ exchange rate)

This was coalited based on a report by The PUNCH last week that gas production decreased the previous year despite an N250 billion intervention fund provided by the Federal Government through the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Last week, the Senate Committee on Gas said it would investigate the N130 billion Compressed Natural Gas intervention fund distributed to 15 oil companies. Agon Jarigbe chairs this committee.

A list of these companies includes Dangote Refinery, NIPCO Gas Ltd, NIPCO Plc, Hyde Energy Ltd, Lee Engineering and Construction Company, Pinnacle Oil and Gas FZE, and Transit Gas Ltd. Others are Amalgamated Oil Company Nig Ltd, First Modular Gas Systems Ltd, NOVAGAS Ltd, Greenville Liquefied Natural Gas Company, AP LPG Limited, MOB Integrated Services Limited, Delta State Government, and Gas Nexus Ltd. Jarigbe also threatened to involve the EFCC to recover those funds.

In the Senate, in the letter submitted before the House, the invited companies are expected to appear to state their progress and the projects they were able to accomplish or those in progress.

The list of the fund's distributions is reported here.