By Adedapo Adesanya
Germany is considering tapping into Nigeria as a partner for its natural gas needs in an effort to secure and diversify its energy supply.
This was disclosed by Chancellor Olaf Scholz during a visit to the Nigerian capital Abuja on Sunday after a meeting with President Bola Tinubu.
According to the German Chancellor, Germany has a significant need for natural gas and, in the future, hydrogen for its economy and its energy transition, and “Specific gas quantities would have to be agreed upon in negotiations between Nigerian producers and German traders.”
“It is important to use the capacities where they are, and that we diversify production all over the globe,” Mr Scholz added.
He noted that “Nigeria has the largest gas reserves in Africa. German companies have an interest in gas supplies from Nigeria and look forward to working with Nigerian gas companies. Hydrogen will also play an important role in the future, and we welcome joint initiatives to establish a corresponding market.”
The European country will be banking on the trade relationship it has with Nigeria, which is its second-largest trading partner in sub-Saharan Africa as trade continues to increase with new markets.
He said that if more countries offered gas on the global market, prices would decrease.
“This will also have an impact on the global gas price,” Mr Scholz said.
Europe has been trying to wane itself of Russian gas after the country attacked Ukraine in February last year. One such opportunity is to look for alternatives or boost supply from key markets, in Germany’s case, Nigeria.
Germany also switched off its last nuclear power plants this year and will need large volumes of LNG to run its large-scale economy, which is the biggest in Europe.
Although Germany has never gotten gas from Nigeria, it gets crude oil.
Last year, Mr Scholz visited Senegal, where he offered German help to open up gas fields off the coast which is expecting the first batch of its production next year.
Mr Scholz will travel to Ghana today from Nigeria in the next leg of his African tour.
Dipo Olowookere