By Franklin Adole
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) has unveiled an ambitious gas expansion drive projected to unlock over $60 billion in new investments across Nigeria’s oil and gas value chain by 2030, as part of a sweeping plan to transform the country into a globally competitive gas hub.
At a media briefing with the Nigeria Guild of Editors in Abuja yesterday, the company disclosed that it would deliver an additional 1.8 billion cubic feet of gas per day (bcf/d) in 2026 to meet surging domestic demand, driven by growth in Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), power generation, industrial parks and compressed natural gas (CNG).
According to its Gas Master Plan 2026 document presented by the NNPC Corporate Communications team led by Andy Odeh, the expansion is a critical step toward achieving Nigeria’s supply target of 10bcf/d by 2027 and 12bcf/d by 2030.
NNPC said its upstream subsidiaries — NNPC Upstream Investment Management Services (NUIMS) and Nigerian Exploration and Production Limited (NEPL) — are expected to deliver incremental volumes of 1.496bcf/d and 223.6 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd) respectively this year, forming the backbone of the projected supply growth.
The Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Ltd, Engr. Bayo Ojulari, described the Gas Master Plan as a commercially driven, execution-focused roadmap designed to reposition Nigeria within the global energy market.
He said the plan aligns with the presidential mandate to ramp up national production to 20bcf/d by 2027 and 12bcf/d by 2030, adding that its successful implementation would catalyse more than $60 billion in fresh investments across upstream, midstream and downstream gas infrastructure within the decade.
To realise this investment target, NNPC identified critical enablers, including sustained global and domestic demand, strong governance and implementation structures, strategic partner alignment, and improved project bankability to secure financing.
The company also stressed the importance of competitive fiscal and commercial incentives to attract investors, particularly in deepwater gas development, as well as resolving longstanding power sector bottlenecks to strengthen the gas-to-power value chain.
NNPC disclosed that a dedicated governance framework has been proposed under its Corporate Master Plan (CMP) to ensure transparent and efficient execution. Leadership of the implementation process will rest with the Head of the Gas Master Plan Implementation Assurance Team, supported by cluster managers overseeing gas assets nationwide.
This structure, the company explained, will enable direct engagement with operators, centralised monitoring of project milestones, and streamlined coordination with Executive Vice Presidents and sponsor groups.
Specialist teams covering subsurface operations, facilities, planning, commercial strategy, legal services and communications will support implementation, ensuring cross-functional alignment and accelerated decision-making.
Under the hub-based development model embedded in the plan, gas assets are clustered based on defined criteria to optimise efficiency and scale. A hub-ranking exercise has already identified 23 high-potential hubs expected to drive the bulk of Nigeria’s gas supply growth in the near to medium term.
With the projected $60 billion investment inflow and the planned 1.8bcf/d supply boost next year, NNPC’s gas expansion strategy signals one of the most aggressive energy investment plays in Nigeria’s recent history, positioning gas as the anchor of the country’s energy transition and industrial growth agenda.