Europe intensifies efforts for Nigerian gas
As Europe intensifies efforts to wean itself off Russian gas in response to the war in Ukraine, the European Union (EU) has increased pressure on Nigeria to provide it with gas.
How’s that? The Deputy Director General, EU Energy Platform Task Force, Mathew Baldwin, who led a delegation from Europe in a visit to Nigeria, reiterated the EU’s commitment to making the ongoing gas projects a reality. Baldwin noted that the visit was part of efforts to establish a new partnership and renewed investment drive with Nigeria. This follows previous visits by European officials to Nigerian authorities in the last few months.
What projects are they working on?
A major area of collaboration they agreed on is the ongoing Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) Gas Project and the Trans Sahara Gas Pipelines (TSGP) project, which is regarded as one of the world’s longest offshore pipelines and expected to transport gas from Nigeria to Europe, through Morocco. The visit to Sylva comes after the ones to the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).
Despite intentions to raise gas supply, Nigeria has been unable to do so as it faces challenges from various areas, including declining funding, attacks on upstream facilities, and theft of petroleum products. In addressing these challenges, Sylva urged for the deployment of technology, security forces, community collaboration, and increased government action. “I am very pleased to be working with you in a big way…the more the security situation can be improved in the Niger Delta region, the more investment we will see,” Baldwin said.
