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Nigerian govt sets up council to attract $575bn gas investments

Published

2 months ago

March 10, 2024

With the aim of attracting $575 billion in investments into the Nigerian gas industry, the Nigerian government has established the Governing Council of the Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund (MDGIF).

Established to finance infrastructure initiatives aimed at enhancing Nigeria’s natural gas transportation, midstream processing, and downstream use, the MDGIF is administered by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, and its operations are overseen by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, who also chairs the governing council.

The MDGIF’s objectives include, but are not limited to, luring in over $575 billion in investments to grow Nigeria’s gas industry and building out the country’s midstream and downstream gas infrastructure to strengthen its gas market.

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo told the seven members of the council during their inaugural meeting in Abuja on Saturday, adding that “the President’s confidence in my ability to chair the MDGIF is not just a personal honour but a clarion call to service for all of us.”

He added, “It reflects the belief that, together, we can harness the vast potential of our nation’s gas resources to drive innovation, create jobs and contribute significantly to the overall development of our beloved country.”

The creation of the MDGIF, according to Ekpo, occurred at a pivotal moment in Nigeria’s energy landscape as the nation works to achieve sustainable development and economic diversification.

According to him, the MDGIF is more than just a financial tool; it also symbolises the government’s commitment to creating an atmosphere that encourages involvement from the private sector and cross-border cooperation.

“Our goals are ambitious, but so is our determination. With the collective expertise and commitment of the governing council, as well as the support of our stakeholders, we aim to drive innovation, create employment opportunities, and ensure energy security for our nation.

“The MDGIF is not merely a fund; it is a vehicle for progress, a conduit for prosperity, and a catalyst for sustainable development. This alignment should, in turn, lead to a tangible reduction in the prices of LPG and CNG, benefiting particularly the low-income earners in our society,” Ekpo stated.

Nigeria produces a lot of hydrocarbons. Revenue from oil and natural gas is its main source of foreign exchange and a significant contributor to the national budget.

According to a report released in March 2023 by the US Energy Information Administration, Nigeria possesses the largest natural gas reserves in Africa. In the June 2022 Statistical Review of World Energy report, she was ranked sixth among all liquefied natural gas exporters worldwide in 2021.

Related Topics:Featured gas investments Nigeria

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World Bank grants Malawi $57.6 million for food crisis

Published

15 hours ago

April 27, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

As a response to its food crisis, the World Bank said on Friday that it would give Malawi $57.6 million in “quick release” grants.

“This support comes in the context of the severe food crisis the country is suffering due to El Niño conditions in the wider southern Africa region,” the World Bank said in a statement.

“A series of intense disaster events over the last few years has left almost no time for the country to recover and has resulted in a severe erosion of food security at the national level.”

Malawi is one of the least developed countries in the world. It is ranked 170 out of 187 countries in the 2010 Human Development Index. Almost 16 million people live there, and 90% of them make less than $2 a day. That’s 53% of the total population.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) says that 46,000 children in Malawi are seriously malnourished. In 2023, UNICEF said that more than 500,000 Malawian children were at risk of not getting enough food.

Now, Malawi has a lot of programs in place to deal with things like poverty, and climate change, and to make the business and agriculture more diverse.

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Nigerian oil regulator implements regional fuel standards

Published

2 days ago

April 26, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Nigeria’s oil authority has clarified that the recent changes to diesel fuel sulphur content standards are part of a regional effort to make things more uniform and are not meant to loosen rules for local refineries.

A report from S&P Global last week said that the West African fuel market had changed a lot after Nigeria raised the maximum diesel sulphur content from 200 parts per million (ppm) to around 650 ppm. This caused worries that the country might be lowering its standards to allow diesel made in Nigeria that is higher than the 200 ppm limit.

The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), on the other hand, said it was only following a 2020 decision by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) that all of the regions had to slowly switch to better fuels.

Fuels that have a lot of sulfur can hurt engines and make the air dirty. As of right now, the ECOWAS rule lets locally-made fuel have more sulfur until January 2025. After that, a standard of less than 5 parts per million will be used for all oil, whether it is refined in West Africa or brought in from another country.

Farouk Ahmed, the head of the NMDPRA, told Reuters that the new limits are in line with ECOWAS’s choice to require stricter fuel specifications. The new rules will go into effect in January 2021 for non-ECOWAS imports and January 2025 for ECOWAS refineries.

“We are merely implementing the ECOWAS decision adopted in 2020,” Ahmed said.

“So a local refinery with a 650 ppm sulphur in its product is permissible and safe under the ECOWAS rule until January next year where a uniform standard would apply to both the locally refined and imported products outside West Africa”, Ahmed said.

Ahmed said that importers were told that the amount of sulphur allowed was going down, from 300 parts per million in February to 200 parts per million this month. This was done long before the huge Dangote refinery started providing diesel.

Diesel with a sulphur level of between 1,500 ppm and 3,000 ppm could be brought in by importers before.

The switch to cleaner fuels is in line with efforts to protect the environment around the world and makes sure that all area refiners have the same chances.

Nigeria recently had its worst blackout in decades because of a problem with its energy supply. The high cost of alternative energy sources has been a huge problem for both businesses and individuals, with the price of diesel being the most affordable choice for businesses.