Amid Infrastructure Deficit, Nigeria’s Gas Output Jumps 20.2% Y-o-Y

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

Nigeria’s total gas production rose by 20.2 per cent year-on-year in April 2025, amid the gas sector’s humongous infrastructure deficit, which has hobbled the ability of the country to fully take advantage of its 210.5 Trillion Cubic Feet (TCF) gas reserves.

Analysis of data from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) showed that in April last year, total gas production was 189,794.26 MMscf, while in April 2025, the gas output rose to 228,309.16 MMscf.

Although the country has Africa’s largest gas reserves, the sector continues to face a significant infrastructure deficit that has hampered the full utilisation of its abundant natural gas reserves.

Till date, it is estimated that despite this potential, only about 25 per cent of these reserves are being produced, as opposed to countries like Qatar, which has its entire economy built around its gas resources.

Some of the challenges include; insufficient investment, which the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) estimates at about $20 billion annually over the next decade to develop the necessary infrastructure.  However, investment levels have been considerably lower, with the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund (MDGIF) accumulating only about $400 million.

Other problems impacting the inability of Nigeria to raise supply considerably include: Limited pipeline network, which is inadequate for efficient gas distribution; power supply constraints, wherein gas demand is limited; regulatory and policy issues, including non-cost-reflective pricing regimes as well as conflicts in host communities.

According to the NUPRC data, Associated Gas (AG), comprising natural gas produced alongside crude oil, accounted for 115,833.92 MMscf, up from 109,921.29 MMscf in April 2024. 

In the same vein, Non-Associated Gas (NAG), which is produced from conventional fields, and not tied to Nigeria’s crude oil output, rose to 112,475.24 MMscf, as opposed  to 79,872.96 MMscf in April of 2024. 

But when compared with the previous month (March), total gas production in April increased marginally by 0.17 per cent, that is, from the 227,931.65 MMscf recorded in March 2025 to the new figure of 228.309.16 MMscf in April.

Although challenges remain, the over 20 per cent rise in gas production in Nigeria can be be partly attributed to various policies to encourage gas development, such as the ‘Decade of Gas’ initiative, the National Gas Policy, and the operationalisation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, which aim to attract investment, provide regulatory clarity, and promote gas as a transition fuel.

There have also been efforts to reduce gas flaring through regulations and monetisation programmes. This marginally cut flaring from roughly 9 per cent last year to about 7.8 per cent as of this year.

However, despite these little efforts, the lack of a robust network of pipelines,  deficit  storage and processing facilities, which limits gas transmission and distribution, especially to inland regions, as well as security issues, particularly vandalism and sabotage of gas pipelines and infrastructure in the Niger Delta, continue to disrupt operations and inflate costs.

Besides, the data indicated that domestic gas sales improved year-on-year by about 21.4 per cent, apparently after the federal government’s ban on the export of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) in Q4 of 2024.

THISDAY’s checks showed that whereas domestic gas sales were 52,795.52 MMscf in April last year, they rose to 64,097.82 MMscf during the corresponding period in 2025. In the same vein, export gas sales increased by 28 per cent y-o-y to 83,370.24 MMscf in April 2025, compared to 65,121.00 MMscf in April 2024.

But on a month-on-month basis, domestic gas sales recorded a minute slump of 2.34 per cent, with export sales rising by 3.61 per cent.

Domestic gas sale in Nigeria includes gas sold for: Power generation – supplied to power plants to produce electricity; Industrial use – used by factories and manufacturing plants as well as commercial and residential use – such as Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) for cooking. 

It also consists of gas-based industries – like fertiliser and petrochemical plants, which also make heavy use of the commodity.