Businessday: Why private investment in gas infrastructure is low

Despite the introduction of the Gas Master Plan and the immerse opportunities that abound for private investors in the development of a gas pipeline network, private investment into gas infrastructure has remained low. This is as a result of a low commercial basis for investments and vandalism on the systems.

According to Clement Oke, acting chairman, Presidential Taskforce on Power, “there has been no incentive for private players to invest in gas supply and infrastructure projects for the longest time; investments in gas infrastructure has been by the government without an economic basis for the projects.”

“Even though the Gas Master Plan is changing this, the biggest challenges remain in tariff collections and vandalism,” he said at the 2014 Nigeria Indigenous Oil Summit.

The biggest users of gas in Nigeria are power companies. The power sector is struggling to achieve higher revenue collection, with losses as high as 80 percent in the Eastern part of the country.
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