Experts Urge $22 Billion Pipeline Investment to Unlock Nigeria’s Gas Potential

Nigeria must significantly expand and modernize its aging pipeline infrastructure to capitalize on its massive natural gas reserves and prevent environmental hazards, energy experts warned at an industry conference this week.

Speaking at the 2026 International Pipeline Conference and Expo, industry leaders stressed that Nigeria’s goal of expanding gas production hinges on overcoming severe logistical bottlenecks.

The country holds roughly 215.19 trillion cubic feet of proven gas reserves, supported by a pipeline network spanning over 2,500 kilometers.

Eloho Amagada, chief executive officer of Amelin Projects Ltd., estimated that fully developing the network will require approximately $22 billion in investment.

He emphasized that robust transmission lines are crucial to supporting power generation, manufacturing, fertilizer, and petrochemical industries.

In 2025, Nigeria supplied about 4.7 billion cubic feet of commercialized gas daily, with domestic consumption accounting for 2.1 billion cubic feet.

However, federal development plans target production of 10 billion cubic feet per day by 2027 and 12 billion cubic feet by 2030.

"No decade of gas without a decade of pipeline infrastructure," Amagada said, noting that every new kilometer creates wider demand for engineering, monitoring, and maintenance services.

Beyond expansion, infrastructure decay poses an immediate threat. Amagada revealed that a recent inspection of a 55-kilometer pipeline uncovered more than 3,000 defects, including severe wall loss.

He urged operators to move away from reactive maintenance and adopt risk-based systems, artificial intelligence surveillance, and digital leak detection.

He highlighted the 130-kilometer Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben (OB3) pipeline—which used horizontal directional drilling to cross beneath the River Niger—as a model for leveraging technology to bypass complex terrain.

Reuben Temerigha, managing director of Westend Diamond Energy Ltd., echoed the call for risk-based management, arguing that maintenance should prioritize failure probability rather than pipeline age alone.

He warned that unaddressed anomalies could quickly turn into environmental disasters.

Temerigha urged companies to assess local soil and waterways before excavating and to set measurable targets for habitat restoration.

"Assessment priorities should follow risk rather than a universal age threshold," Temerigha said. "Risks are reduced before failure."