Economy
Nigeria Eyes 10% Global LNG Sales
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Nigeria is set to capture at least 10 percent of the global market share of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) as part of the concerted efforts to harness the nation’s gas resources which currently stand at 192 Trillion Cubic Feet, tcf, of proven reserve.
Group Managing Director of NNPC, Dr Maikanti Baru, who stated this while delivering a keynote address at the 2017 Society of Petroleum Engineers, SPE, Oloibiri Lecture Series and Energy Forum, said the projection was in line with the gas component of the NNPC 12 Business Focus Areas termed the 12BUFAs initiative which seeks to increase domestic gas supply to 5bscfd by 2020.
Providing details of the plan, the GMD said the initiative was anchored on: Growing gas supply to support the power sector, with a view to achieving at least a 3-fold increase in generating capacity within five years and stimulating gas-based industrialization with a view to positioning Nigeria as African regional hub for gas based industries such as Fertilizer, Petrochemicals, and Methanol etc.
He said these steps would position Nigeria for self-sufficiency in these sectors and at least 5 percent of global output.
The GMD explained that the gas component of the 12 BUFAs initiative would help to “selectively expand our export footprint in high value and strategic foreign markets, with a view to maintaining a 10 percent market share in global LNG trade and dominance in regional gas pipeline supplies.”
On domestic gas utilization architecture, the GMD enthused that measures have since been activated to ensure that the industry responds adequately to the new wave of demand necessitated by the Power Sector massive investments in new power plants and rehabilitation of existing PHCN Power Plants which has increased total gas requirement to 3billion standard cubic feet of gas per day.
“With Nigeria’s current production averaging at 8.0bscfd, of which 1.3bscfd is for domestic consumption, 3.5 bscfd for export, 2.5bscfd for re-injection/fuel gas use and about 0.7bscfd is flared, the need to encourage gas production to meet with the demand becomes paramount,” he said.
The GMD listed the pipeline infrastructure intervention projects that have been completed to include: the Oben-Geregu (196km), Escravos-Warri-Oben (110km), Emuren-Itoki (50km), Itoki-Olorunshogo (31km), Imo River-Alaoji (24km) and the Ukanafun-Calabar (128km).
He said that other projects like the strategic East-West Obiafo/Obirikom to Oben (OB3) pipeline (127km) is scheduled for completion by the end of 2017 while the looping of the Escravos-Lagos Gas Pipeline System from Warri to Lagos is scheduled for completion by July 2017.
“The Ajaokuta-Abuja-Kaduna-Kano pipeline (650km) is currently on tender. This project will soon be awarded under a contractor financing scheme,” he noted.
Dr Baru said Nigeria was on the path of maximizing its gas resources, having put in place a commercially sustainable framework for gas supply, developed an aggressive gas infrastructure blueprint and articulated a gas based industrialization programme that is currently under way.
This year’s SPE Oloibiri Lecture Series & Energy Forum has the theme: “Domestic Gas Utilization in Nigeria: From Producers to Users”.
Mr Saka Matemilola, Council Chariman of SPE, Nigeria, earlier in his opening remarks, called on oil and gas professionals to close ranks and ensure that the country reaps bountifully from its huge hydrocarbon resource base.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Senate has passed a bill to repeal and re-enact the law establishing the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), paving the way for the regulatory agency to be renamed the Insurance Regulatory Commission (IRC).
The legislation, titled the Insurance Regulatory Commission (Establishment) Bill, 2026, was passed after the Senate considered and adopted the report of its committee on banking, insurance and other financial institutions.
The Chairman of the committee, Mr Adetokunbo Abiru, the senator representing Lagos East, who presented the report, stated that the proposed legislation was necessary because the existing National Insurance Commission Act of 1997 had become outdated and no longer reflected the realities of Nigeria’s evolving insurance industry or global regulatory standards.
According to the Senate, the decision to change the Commission’s name was informed by the need to eliminate confusion associated with the existing designation and to better reflect the institution’s regulatory mandate within Nigeria’s insurance industry.
The bill also provides legal protection for the commission and its officers against adverse claims arising from the lawful execution of their statutory duties.
However, he noted that the commission’s enabling law had become obsolete, exposing significant regulatory gaps that required urgent legislative intervention.
‘The current National Insurance Commission Act 1997 is outdated and does not adequately address the emerging economic growth, needs and development of the insurance business,” the lawmaker said.
He explained that the new legislation seeks to strengthen the independence of the commission by empowering it to make regulatory decisions without undue influence in the country’s insurance sector.
According to him, the bill also enhances the commission’s authority to exchange information and collaborate with domestic and international regulatory bodies, issue regulations, guidelines, standards and directives on insurance-related matters, and intervene more effectively in financially distressed insurance companies to protect policyholders and preserve financial stability.
This marks yet another move to strengthen the country’s insurance sector following the enactment of the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) of 2025 and the industry-wide recapitalisation exercise, which will wrap up by July 31.
By Adedapo Adesanya
About 143 companies that successfully passed the technical and prequalification stages of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission’s (NUPRC) 2025 Licensing Round will, today, compete for 50 oil and gas blocks at the commercial bid conference in Abuja, the final stage in the allocation process for the assets.
The commission said only the prequalified companies have been invited to attend the event, which will hold at the Conference Centre of the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, stressing that participation is strictly by invitation.
The commercial bid conference will determine the successful bidders for oil and gas assets located across Nigeria’s producing and frontier basins.
The 50 blocks comprise 16 onshore blocks and 18 shallow water blocks in the Niger Delta, one deep offshore block, three onshore blocks in the Benin Basin, four in the Anambra Basin, four in the Chad Basin, and four in the Benue Trough.
According to the commission, the winning bids will be determined through a transparent evaluation process based on clearly defined commercial parameters. These include the signature bonus offered by bidders, the proposed work programme commitment and the level of performance security provided. The final selection will be based on a weighted technical and commercial score.
The licensing round is being conducted under the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, which requires a transparent and competitive process for the award of petroleum assets.
NUPRC had announced the commencement of the 2025 Licensing Round on November 11, 2025, before opening the online bid portal on December 1, 2025, to enable interested companies to register and participate in the exercise.
To ensure prospective investors fully understood the requirements, the commission organised a pre-bid conference on January 14, 2026, at Eko Hotels and Suites, Lagos. The event provided detailed explanations on the licensing guidelines and bidding procedures to registered participants and other stakeholders.
Registration and submission of prequalification documents closed on February 27, 2026, while the prequalification evaluation was completed on March 16, 2026.
NUPRC disclosed that 286 companies initially submitted applications for prequalification.
Following the evaluation process, 196 companies were cleared to participate in the technical and commercial bid stages.
The prequalified 143 companies eventually submitted a total of 200 bids for the available oil and gas blocks. These companies are now set to compete at the commercial bid conference, where the financial offers will be opened and evaluated to determine the eventual winners.
The licensing round is expected to attract fresh investment into Nigeria’s upstream petroleum sector, boost exploration activities across both producing and frontier basins, increase crude oil and gas reserves, and support the country’s drive to grow production and government revenue.
It also underscores the regulator’s commitment to implementing a transparent, competitive and investor-friendly licensing regime under the Petroleum Industry Act.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has retained all key monetary policy parameters following the conclusion of its two-day meeting on July 21, 2026, on Tuesday, maintaining its tight monetary policy stance to curb inflation and support macroeconomic stability.
According to the Governor of the apex bank, Mr Yemi Cardoso, who chaired the committee, the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR), which serves as the benchmark interest rate, remains at 26.50 per cent. The MPC also retained the asymmetric corridor around the MPR at +50 basis points and -450 basis points.
In addition, the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) for commercial banks was left unchanged at 45.00 per cent, while the CRR for merchant banks remains at 16.00 per cent. The committee also retained the CRR on non-Treasury Single Account (Non-TSA) public sector deposits at 75.00 per cent, with the liquidity ratio at 30.00 per cent.
The decision reflects the apex bank’s continued commitment to containing inflationary pressures through a restrictive monetary policy while safeguarding the resilience of Nigeria’s financial system amid ongoing macroeconomic adjustments.
By keeping all policy tools unchanged, the MPC signalled its intention to continue managing excess liquidity in the banking sector and maintain stability in financial markets.
The move is also expected to provide greater policy certainty for investors and businesses monitoring the country’s monetary policy direction.
The latest decision also means borrowing costs are likely to remain elevated in the near term as the central bank continues to prioritise price stability over monetary easing.
Analysts had expected the CBN committee to retain the rate after Nigeria’s headline inflation came in at 15.91 per cent as of June 2026, marking a slight decline from 15.93 per cent in May.
However, even as overall price growth has moderated significantly compared to previous periods, food inflation remains a persistent challenge, accelerating to 17.52 per cent in June.
