The country’s domestic gas demand has dropped by 318 million standard cubic feet(scuf) of gas per day, Daily Sun findings has revealed.
A document released by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) indicated that Nigeria’s new Domestic Gas Demand Requirement (DGDR) has hit 4.482 billion standard cubic feet of gas per day.
But latest industry statistics as revealed by the Group Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr.Mele Kyari, at the 15th Oil Trading and Logistics, OTL, Africa Downstream Week in Lagos, had put the country’s domestic gas demand at 4.8 billion scuf of gas in 2020.
The drop in gas demand may not be unconnected with the movement of some companies out of Nigeria over poor infrastructure, especially electricity.
A World Bank Enterprise survey reported 322 private firms closed down in Nigeria between 2009 and 2014 due to stifling business regulations, corruption, and political environment. The Director of Economic and Statistics Department, for Manufacturers’ Association of Nigeria, Oluwasegun Osidipe, was once quoted as saying 196 manufacturing companies shut down their operations between 2015 and 2017 due to the biting recession.
A statement by the NMDPRA Chief Executive, Mr. Farouk Ahmed, in Abuja yesterday, explained that the requirements were jointly determined by all the relevant stakeholders.
According to the requirement, which was transmitted to the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) on Tuesday, the power sector is pegged at 2.324 billion standard cubic feet per day (BSCF/D); the gas-based industries was fixed at 1.125 billion standard cubic feet per day; the commercial sector set at 1.034 billion standard cubic feet per day while the total Domestic Gas Demand Requirement was 4.482 billion standard cubic feet per day.
In the transmitted document, which had NMDPRA/GMR/DGSU/V.1/34 as reference number, the Authority Chief Executive said: “Domestic Gas Demand Requirement – Pursuant to Section 173 of the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) in consultation with the relevant stakeholders has determined the annual Domestic Gas Demand requirement (DGDR).
“The Determined Domestic Gas Demand requirement (DGDR) for the strategic sectors for the year 2022 as presented below is transmitted to Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission for prescribing and allocating the Domestic gas Delivery Obligation among all lessees as stipulated in the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.”
The Authority added that the stakeholders consulted include gas producing companies, gas transportation companies, gas offtakers and key regulators such as the NUPRC and Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).