OBG: Nigeria targets gas production

Africa’s largest economy has long faced several challenges in domestic power production, with current levels of gas supplies and generational capacity insufficient to meet the nation’s needs. Day-to-day issues, such as disruptions to supplies, are adding to the problems, with the result that the country rarely reaches its 4GW optimum power capacity – a figure that even if achieved would equate to only 10% the output of South Africa, which has a population half the size of Nigeria’s 170m.

As a result, expanding generation capacity and strengthening the distribution grid are essential ingredients for Nigeria’s economic development.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the finance minister and co-ordinating minister for the economy, told OBG that additional infrastructure, which requires higher electricity output, was pivotal to underpin growth. “Nigeria’s economy has been growing at an average rate of 7% annually over the past decade with limited power supply,” said Okonjo-Iweala. “If we can double existing capacity in terms of hours of availability or megawatts, we expect to sustain economic growth of 8% or more.”
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