NUPRC: Over 180 TCF of Gas Undeveloped Due to Fragmented Markets, Unaligned Fiscal, Regulatory Regimes

• NNPC says gas infrastructure fundable with proper structuring

•Ekpo pushes performance-driven local content

•FG moves to break monopoly in EPC contracting

Emmanuel Addeh and Blessing Ibunge in Abuja

Over 180 Trillion Cubic Feet (TCF) of discovered natural gas across Africa remains untapped, largely due to fragmented markets and unaligned fiscal and regulatory regimes, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) said yesterday.

Delivering her keynote address at the 9th Nigeria International Energy Summit (NIES) held in Abuja, the NUPRC Chief Executive, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, emphasised the critical role of the African Petroleum Regulators’ Forum (AFRIPERF) in harmonising energy regulation across Africa and unlocking large-scale investment in the continent’s oil and gas sector.

Themed: “Energy for Peace and Prosperity: Securing Our Shared Future”, the summit  focuses on accelerating Africa’s energy sector transformation through dialogue, focusing on sustainability, strengthening, and resilience for regional growth.

Highlighting missed opportunities, Eyesan pointed to the abundance of discovered natural gas across Africa that remains unsanctioned for development, largely due to fragmented markets and unaligned fiscal and regulatory regimes.

“When these advantages are developed through coordinated policies, integrated infrastructure and aligned regulatory frameworks, they can drive industrialisation, strengthen regional value chains, enhance energy security and deliver inclusive growth,” Eyesan said.

She urged African regulators to deepen cooperation by strengthening AFRIPERF, expanding regional gas and electricity networks, adopting shared sustainability standards, and maintaining a unified African stance in global energy and climate discussions.

She noted that Africa holds approximately 8 per cent of global oil and gas reserves, nearly 30 per cent of known critical mineral resources, and a population exceeding 1.5 billion people, largely youthful and economically active.

“Investors are not deterred by Africa’s geology; they are deterred by inconsistent rules,” the NUPRC boss stated. “AFRIPERF was established to institutionalise regulatory convergence, provide predictability, and enable faster execution of cross-border projects that deliver shared prosperity,” she added.

Eyesan also praised Nigeria’s leadership in setting a continental example, citing the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, ongoing transparent licensing rounds, and major gas infrastructure projects including the AKK pipeline, Nigeria–Morocco Gas Pipeline, and the revived Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline.

Opening the session on local content, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, represented by Permanent Secretary Patience Oyekunle, stressed that unlocking Africa’s gas potential requires a deliberate shift beyond compliance toward performance-driven local content, ensuring that indigenous companies are globally competitive.

“Historically, local content implementation has been driven largely by compliance, meeting prescribed thresholds for contracts, labour, and ownership. While this has increased participation, it has not always translated into globally competitive indigenous gas companies, advanced technological capability, or deep and sustainable value retention within our economies,” Ekpo said.

He urged a new compact, stressing that the government must provide clear, stable, and coordinated policy signals that reward capability development while industry operators must embed local capacity development into project design.

Also at the event, the Minister of Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, emphasised the centrality of local content to Africa’s energy and industrial future. He observed that misapplication of local content had previously driven Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) companies away, raising project costs compared to other gas-producing nations.

Lokpobiri added that the government’s approach is to bring international and indigenous firms together, ensuring projects are globally competitive while building local capacity.

The minister stressed that supporting Nigerian companies requires deliberate human capacity development. “That is why the training expected to be done by NCDMB is important. PTDF has also moved from scholarships to training manpower needed locally to manage our oil and gas industry,” he said.

Lokpobiri highlighted the NOGID Act’s financing provisions,  urging practical collaboration between local and international firms and stressing that the industry is large enough to accommodate all players.

During a panel at the summit, Executive Vice President, Gas and New Energies, Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) Olalekan Ogunleye, said gas infrastructure projects are fully fundable if properly structured. He cited NLNG Train 7 as an example of effective capex management, cost competitiveness, and reduced gas flaring.

“Vendors take comfort when they know that the gas producer is a participant in the project, they know that key off-takers are in the project. So it’s about flexibility and inclusiveness, and that is attractive to financiers,” Ogunleye said.

He also highlighted the African Atlantic Gas Pipeline, which traverses 13 African countries directly and another three indirectly, as a demonstration of the continental potential of integrated gas projects.

He emphasised that NNPC’s role as a shareholder in Afreximbank and a driver of African energy pipelines positions the company to align financing with local realities, markets, and governance standards. “Gas as a commodity has come to its fruition, and gas infrastructure projects are absolutely financiable if structured properly,” Ogunleye concluded.

In his remarks, the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Felix Ogbe, represented by Dr. Abdulmalik Halilu, Director, Corporate Services, highlighted the role of competence, capacity utilisation, and collaboration in translating local content into industrial mastery.

Ogbe stressed the importance of training, noting that over 10,000 youths are being skilled in high-demand oil and gas roles, including subsea engineering, automation, underwater welding, and drilling engineering.