The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) says the Final Investment Decision (FID) for the $25bn Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline (NMGP) Project will be made in December 2024.

The Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL, Mele Kyari, made this known while speaking during a Leadership Dialogue Session at the ongoing CERAWeek Conference in Houston, United States, on Tuesday, March 19, 2024.

Kyari said there is an ongoing engagement on the Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline Project, which he noted is at an advanced stage, to create a pipeline that will pass through thirteen African countries and to Europe.

The NNPCL boss further advocated for a differentiated approach to attaining energy transition for the African continent.

According to him, energy transition is a very difficult subject for countries especially in sub-Saharan Africa because geographically, the situations are different as a number of the countries are dealing with energy availability, not transition, and energy availability is closely linked to energy security.

“The world has seen all the challenges thrown up recently by geopolitical events. It is clear that before energy transition, countries must first attain security of energy supply in their countries. You cannot talk about energy security when it is not even available.

FG begins talks with Morocco to expedite Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline

“In most sub-Saharan Africa, 70 per cent of the population don’t have access to clean cooking fuels. Therefore, you must fill the supply gap first,” Kyari was quoted as saying in a statement issued by the NNPCL spokesperson, Olufemi Soneye, on Tuesday.

He said although people talk about using renewables to close the energy transition gap, the money for renewables too must be found.

Kyari added: “If you insist on completing substitution today, then you have to deal with the problem of supply.

“For us today, the transition must be differentiated. Even if Africa decides to switch off its fossil fuels, it only accounts for just about 3 per cent of the entire global emissions.”

He reiterated that NNPCL’s focus is to build its capacity to deliver gas to the domestic market and beyond.

The NNPCL boss said as a gas-endowed country, Nigeria must utilise its abundant gas resources to provide the alternative fuel that it needs.

“We understand the arguments towards attaining energy transition, but the cheapest way to achieve that is through gas. We see clear opportunities that gas creates. Today we are building a number of trunklines and other gas infrastructure that will supply gas to a number of gas networks,” Kyari noted.

CERAWeek is one of the largest energy conferences in the world, drawing thousands of foremost global energy industry experts and a host of other corporate and government leaders from around the world annually to Houston, United States for a week-long conversation on the future of energy.

Organised by S&P Global, the conference has grown in recent years to accommodate new energy technologies and climate issues. The 2024 conference is expected to have participants from over 90 countries and will feature 1,400 speakers.

The Star