Executive Vice President of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Olalekan Ogunleye, has said that the ongoing crisis in the Middle East has opened up commercial opportunities for Nigeria, as the country sees stronger demand for its liquefied natural gas cargoes.
His stance comes as global economies are experiencing energy disruptions from the war between Israel and the US and Iran.
Ogunleye, who spoke at the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston, noted that buyers are increasingly looking to Nigeria because of its proximity to key consuming nations and the scale of its gas reserves.
Nigeria LNG (NLNG), in which NNPC is the largest shareholder, can export up to 22 million metric tons per year and is building a seventh production train scheduled for completion in 2027.
“We are right in the middle of the market. We are 10 sailing days from Europe, close to the Atlantic Basin, and close to Asia,” Ogunleye said. “We see commercial opportunities on top of the fact that we have the most gas reserves in Africa.”
Ogunleye said demand for natural gas has proven resilient, adding that the current geopolitical tensions would not derail its growth. He said NNPC has started talks on adding two new LNG trains and is also pursuing a 12 million metric tons per annum (mtpa) LNG project alongside gas‑based industrial hubs to tap more than 200 trillion cubic feet of reserves in Nigeria.
Reuters had quoted Martin Houston, a longtime LNG developer and consultant, as saying that the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran has heightened the need for buyers to diversify supply risk. He said African and South American countries with gas already discovered but without a current market could benefit from rising interest in new LNG supply, including floating LNG options.
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The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, on Wednesday said the government has wooed investors to invest in the country, saying government policies have secured the right environment for them to thrive.
Lokpobiri, who also spoke at the CERAWeek, noted that Nigeria’s crude oil is one of the best in the world.
He specifically said that his ministry has held talks with major International Oil Companies (IOCs) such as Shell, Chevron, Total, Eni, and ExxonMobil.
“And you know, Nigeria’s crude is one of the best in the world. I believe that the message is syncing well and all of them have made commitments to say, look, when they are prioritising investment destinations, Nigeria will be the preferred destination,” the minister told Channels Television on the sidelines of the conference.
He added that Nigeria was ready for business, calling on investors to partner with the Nigerian government.
“Before now, Nigeria wasn’t seen to be an attractive destination for investment. So instead of coming to Nigeria, they went to other parts of the world. But we have assured them that for the past 15 years or more, Nigeria hasn’t experienced any upstream disruption, and the facts are there for anybody to see.
“And what we are saying is that it’s important that in view of what is going on in the world, it’s better for them to come to Nigeria where we have reforms, you know, in terms of our fiscals, we have clarity, we have certainty, we have stability of regulations and legal framework for them to come and invest,” he said.
