Economy
Ojulari Eyes New $60bn Investment to Boost Nigeria’s Gas Infrastructure
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has said the country was targeting $60 billion in new investments over the next five to seven years to expand gas infrastructure.
The chief executive of the company, Mr Bayo Ojulari, told a global audience from 150 countries at the opening of the Gastech Exhibition and Conference in Milan, Italy that the Nigerian government was seeking investment to boost industrialisation and reinforce the country’s position in the global energy market.
According to him, the planned investment was aimed at scaling up Nigeria’s natural gas production to 12 billion cubic feet per day and expanding the refinery capacity to meet growing global energy demand.
“We are seeking at least $60 billion in investment over the next five to seven years, which for our oil and gas industry is just the tip of the iceberg. We are seeking investors to grow production,” he said.
Mr Ojulari said the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), signed into law in 2021, transformed NNPC into a limited liability company, enabling it to access direct funding and forge global partnerships.
He said that the company was currently producing about 1.6 million barrels of crude oil per day with a mandate to grow output to 2 million barrels per day by 2027 and 3 million barrels per day by 2030.
He highlighted the ongoing projects, including the Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano (AKK) pipeline, the extension of the West African Gas Pipeline to Morocco and Europe, as well as the expansion of the Nigeria LNG project.
According to him, Nigeria already supplies 60 per cent of LNG to Portugal and Spain, and is currently on Train 6, constructing Train 7 to be completed in 2026, with plans for Trains 8 and 9.
“Nigeria has one of the best-run LNG businesses globally. We want to take advantage of the current high energy demand, which is also expected to go even higher” he said.
On clean energy, Mr Ojulari said government was driving LPG adoption and has launched a programme to deliver 2 million cylinders nationwide, while also rolling out a Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) transition scheme for vehicles and machinery.
On Nigeria’s role in global energy security, he added that geopolitical shifts, such as the Russia-Ukraine-war, had accelerated regional pipeline projects to strengthen energy security.
The NNPC boss said Nigeria has over 200 undeveloped oil and gas fields, describing them as greenfield opportunities for international investors.
On how foreign policy shifts affect Nigeria’s energy sector, Mr Ojulari said the country had been hosting investments from diverse global players including ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, Agip and Total.
“Nigeria is a global market. While foreign policies do impact us, our focus is on creating a stable market and building the right partnerships,” he said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is seeking a reduction in import duty exemptions, which rose to N34 trillion, limiting its ability to increase its revenue generation threshold.
The Comptroller-General of the Customs Service, Mr Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed that the value of import duty exemption certificate approvals increased to that level in 2025, describing the policy as one of the major factors restricting its revenue generation.
At an investigative session of the Senate Committee on Finance with revenue-generating agencies in Abuja on Monday, Mr Adeniyi explained that government fiscal policies have continued to impact the revenue-generating capacity of the Customs Service, both positively and negatively.
“The NCS would have generated significantly higher revenue over the years if not for government-approved import duty waivers and other external factors affecting collections,” he said.
He added that the Import Duty Exemption Certificate scheme, introduced in March 2020, accounted for about N34 trillion in approvals in 2025, with nearly 60 per cent covering duty-free importation of military hardware due to Nigeria’s prevailing security challenges.
Other government-backed duty waivers, he noted, covered the importation of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), electric and hybrid vehicles, healthcare equipment and medical supplies, industrial machinery and manufacturing inputs, as well as food import intervention programmes.
While acknowledging the impact of the waivers on Customs revenue, Mr Adeniyi argued that fiscal policy should not be assessed solely on the basis of revenue generation but also on its broader economic and social objectives.
He, however, urged the federal government to establish stronger monitoring mechanisms to ensure beneficiaries of duty waivers deliver the intended economic outcomes, including lower consumer prices, increased local production and improved healthcare access.
The committee also expressed displeasure over the absence of several heads of government agencies invited to the hearing, including the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Industrial Training Fund (ITF), and the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jabi.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Mr Sani Musa, warned that the affected chief executives must appear at the committee’s next sitting or face severe sanctions under the Senate’s rules.
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By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose by 0.40 per cent on Monday, July 13, buoyed by buying interest in 11 Plc, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and UBN Property Plc, which offset the profit-taking in Food Concepts Plc, the parent company of Chicken Republic.
11 Plc gained N20.69 to end at N227.64 per share compared with last Friday’s price of N206.95 per share, CSCS Plc grew by N1.83 to N91.48 per unit from N89.65 per unit, and UBN Property Plc added 1 Kobo to sell at N1.81 per share versus N1.80 per share.
On the flip side, Food Concepts Plc depreciated by 24 Kobo to close at N2.45 per unit, in contrast to the preceding session’s N2.69 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation increased by N9.2 billion to N2.587 trillion from N2.578 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) improved by 15.33 points to 4,311.67 points from 4,296.34 points.
Yesterday, the volume of securities traded by investors surged by 615.9 per cent to 9.1 million units from the previous 1.3 million units, and the value of securities rose by 997.1 per cent to N320.4 million from the preceding session’s N29.2 million, while the number of deals decreased by 12.5 per cent to 28 deals from last Friday’s 32 deals.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units worth N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 73.9 million units exchanged for N5.2 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
