Ojulari and Nigeria’s gas pivot: How NNPC’s quiet build-out is powering a diversified energy future

Eight months into his tenure as Group Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Bayo Ojulari is increasingly being associated with a strategic shift that may ultimately define Nigeria’s long-term energy and economic future: the steady elevation of natural gas from a secondary resource to a central pillar of national development. While the narrative around Nigeria’s oil industry has historically been dominated by crude production figures and export revenues, Ojulari’s leadership has reinforced an ongoing but often understated transition toward gas-led diversification.

Importantly, this transition did not begin with Ojulari. Nigeria’s gas ambitions, embedded in policy frameworks and infrastructure planning over the past decade, were already taking shape before his appointment. What Ojulari has done, however, is to stabilise execution, maintain momentum and align these efforts more clearly with commercial outcomes under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).

With Nigeria holding over 206 trillion cubic feet of proven gas reserves—far exceeding its crude oil endowment—the logic of gas as a diversification anchor is compelling. Under Ojulari, NNPC Ltd has treated gas not as a distant promise, but as a practical pathway to revenue stability, industrial growth and energy security.

The volatility of global oil markets has long exposed Nigeria to fiscal shocks. Gas, by contrast, offers longer-term contracts, domestic utilisation opportunities and regional export potential. Ojulari has repeatedly framed gas development as economic insurance—an asset class that cushions oil price swings while supporting industrialisation.

This framing is evident in NNPC’s continued commitment to the Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline. In 2025, the project reached a defining milestone with the successful horizontal directional drilling and crossing of the River Niger. The technical achievement was widely viewed within the industry as one of the most challenging segments of the project, and its completion significantly de-risked the pipeline’s timeline.

While the AKK project was conceived long before Ojulari’s tenure, his administration has focused on contract reengineering, stakeholder coordination and realistic delivery targets. The pipeline is now positioned to support power generation, fertiliser plants, petrochemicals and other gas-based industries across northern Nigeria—expanding the economic footprint of NNPC beyond oil exports.

Beyond AKK, Ojulari has sustained momentum on other critical gas arteries, notably the Obiafu–Obrikom–Oben (OB3) pipeline. OB3 plays a vital role in linking eastern gas fields to western demand centres, enabling more efficient gas supply to power plants and industrial users.

Together, AKK and OB3 form the backbone of a national gas grid that reduces flaring, improves domestic supply reliability and creates new commercial opportunities. Industry analysts note that this infrastructure-led approach reflects a diversification philosophy rooted in assets rather than rhetoric.

Rather than announcing new mega-projects, Ojulari’s leadership has emphasised completing and optimising existing ones—an approach that aligns with his broader stabilisation strategy across NNPC Ltd.

Perhaps the most ambitious element of Nigeria’s gas diversification strategy is the Nigeria–Morocco Gas Pipeline (NMGP). Spanning more than 5,600 kilometres and potentially supplying gas to 13 West and North African countries, the NMGP represents a generational infrastructure play.

At the African Petroleum Producers’ Organisation (APPO) CEOs Forum, Ojulari articulated the strategic rationale for the project in stark terms. With European investment in fossil fuel refineries declining and many facilities expected to phase out by 2030, Africa, he argued, must take ownership of its energy destiny.

The NMGP, entrusted to NNPC Ltd by the Federal Government, is designed not only to export gas but to deepen regional integration, stimulate cross-border trade and anchor Nigeria’s position as a continental energy hub. Ojulari has acknowledged that the project faces challenges—ranging from financing to alignment among partner countries—but he has also pointed to improved frameworks for payments, governance and collaboration.

By maintaining diplomatic and technical engagement on NMGP, Ojulari has helped ensure that the project remains alive and credible, even as timelines stretch and global energy dynamics evolve.

Ojulari’s gas push also fits squarely within Nigeria’s energy transition agenda. While global discourse often frames transition as a rapid shift away from hydrocarbons, NNPC’s strategy under Ojulari is more pragmatic. Gas is positioned as a transition fuel—cleaner than oil, abundant locally and capable of supporting economic growth while reducing emissions.

This thinking has informed NNPC’s support for gas-based transportation initiatives, including compressed natural gas (CNG) adoption. By promoting gas in transport and power generation, NNPC is helping to lower energy costs, reduce dependence on imported fuels and moderate environmental impact.

Again, these initiatives did not originate in 2025, but Ojulari’s administration has integrated them more clearly into a commercial narrative that links energy transition with affordability and competitiveness.

One of the defining traits of Ojulari’s gas diversification strategy is commercial discipline. Rather than projecting gas projects as political trophies, his leadership has consistently emphasised viability, partnerships and phased execution.

This approach is particularly important in a sector where stalled projects and cost overruns have historically undermined confidence. By reinforcing governance structures and aligning gas projects with market demand, Ojulari has helped protect NNPC’s balance sheet while advancing diversification goals.

The sustained profitability of NNPC Ltd—culminating in a N5.4 trillion Profit After Tax for 2024—provides the financial foundation for this discipline. Gas projects are being pursued not as fiscal burdens, but as long-term investments designed to preserve and grow earnings.

Critically, Ojulari’s role in Nigeria’s gas pivot has been one of continuity rather than disruption. By building on frameworks established under previous leaderships, he has avoided the institutional resets that often slow progress in large organisations.

This continuity has ensured that NNPC Ltd’s gas agenda has not lost momentum during the leadership transition. On the contrary, 2025 has seen tangible advances that reinforce gas as a core diversification pillar.

As Nigeria navigates an increasingly complex global energy landscape, gas is likely to play an even more prominent role in its economic strategy. For NNPC Ltd, success will depend on execution—bringing pipelines online, securing offtake agreements and translating infrastructure into revenue.

Eight months into his tenure, Bayo Ojulari has not radically redefined Nigeria’s gas ambitions. Instead, he has done something arguably more valuable: he has kept them moving, grounded them in commercial reality and aligned them with a broader diversification vision.

In an industry where progress is often derailed by leadership changes, that steadiness may prove to be one of Ojulari’s most consequential contributions.

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