Nigeria and the Canadian Province of Alberta have agreed to deepen cooperation in gas development, emissions reduction and energy transition initiatives, as Africa’s largest economy seeks to unlock greater value from its vast natural gas resources.
The move followed bilateral discussions between the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, and Alberta’s Minister of Energy and Minerals, Brian Jean, in Calgary, Canada.
A statement issued by Ekpo’s spokesman, Louis Ibah, said both sides explored opportunities for collaboration in carbon capture, methane emissions reduction, gas monetisation and human capital development.
The engagement comes as Nigeria intensifies efforts to position natural gas as a bridge fuel in its energy transition strategy, balancing economic growth objectives with global decarbonisation commitments.
With more than 215 trillion cubic feet of proven gas reserves, Nigeria holds one of the largest gas endowments in the world. However, inadequate infrastructure, limited domestic utilisation and persistent gas flaring have constrained the sector’s full potential.
Speaking during the meeting, Ekpo reiterated Nigeria’s commitment to using natural gas as a catalyst for industrialisation, energy security and lower-carbon economic development.
“Nigeria is positioning natural gas as the cornerstone of its energy transition and seeks strong global partnerships to advance cleaner production and emissions reduction,” he said.
For Nigeria, collaboration with Alberta offers access to technical expertise from one of North America’s leading energy-producing jurisdictions. Alberta has developed extensive experience in carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS), methane management and emissions monitoring, areas increasingly viewed as critical to the future competitiveness of gas-producing nations.
Jean highlighted Alberta’s achievements in emissions management and expressed the province’s readiness to support Nigeria through technical cooperation, knowledge transfer and capacity-building programmes.
Analysts say the partnership aligns with Nigeria’s broader objective of attracting investment into gas infrastructure while reducing the environmental footprint of hydrocarbon production.
The country has in recent years launched initiatives such as the Decade of Gas programme and expanded efforts to commercialise gas resources for power generation, industrial use and export markets.
Beyond environmental considerations, the cooperation could support Nigeria’s ambition to move further up the energy value chain through petrochemical development and gas-based industrialisation.
Both parties agreed to establish a joint technical working group and begin the process of developing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to formalise cooperation.
The proposed framework will cover technical exchanges on carbon capture and emissions reduction, promote academic and professional training partnerships, and explore wider collaboration in petrochemicals and energy industrialisation.
Industry observers view the engagement as another step in Nigeria’s search for international partnerships capable of helping transform its abundant gas resources into a driver of economic diversification, industrial growth and a more sustainable energy future.