Nigeria: Ekperikpe Wants Nigeria To Turn Gas Potential Into Prosperity

Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Mr. Ekperikpe Ekpo, has underscored the need for Nigeria to take decisive and unified action to tap into the country’s vast natural gas reserves.

Nigeria holds over 210 trillion cubic feet of proven natural gas reserves, Africa’s largest and among the top ten globally.

According to Minister Ekpo, this resource is a divine gift, but it comes with a responsibility—to use it for sustainable development, job creation, industrialization, and global energy security.

Delivering a keynote address at a session hosted by the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN) on Tuesday in Houston, Texas, U.S., at the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC), Ekpo reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to transforming Nigeria into a globally competitive, gas-powered economy.

The theme of the session was “Harnessing Nigeria’s Gas Potential for Domestic Utilization and Global Export Market”. He said, “Potential alone does not generate growth; action does.”

The minister commended PETAN for showcasing Nigeria’s innovation on the world stage and emphasized that the country’s Decade of Gas initiative, under President Bola Tinubu’s administration, is central to national energy transformation.

Ekpo stressed that innovation and technology, including digital oilfield solutions, low-carbon gas processing, and emissions monitoring, will be key drivers in this transformation. He called for greater investment in R&D and closer collaboration between academia, startups, and the private sector.

Addressing the financing challenge, the minister noted that Nigeria must make its gas projects bankable and ESG-compliant to attract global investment amid shifting energy transition priorities.

He commended the efforts of Nigeria’s regulatory agencies, the NMDPRA and NUPRC, for fostering investor confidence through transparency and efficiency.

Ekpo emphasized the need for indigenous companies to take the lead in this new energy era. “The future of gas in Nigeria is not just for multinational corporations; it belongs to every capable Nigerian entrepreneur ready to act.”

“Nigeria’s gas potential is vast, but it is only through decisive, collective action that we can transform that potential into prosperity—both for our people at home and for our position on the global stage,” he added.

Source:https://energynewsafrica.com