The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, has said Nigeria will need $200 billion (about N84 trillion) to bridge the gas infrastructure deficit in the next 10 years, with $20bn (N8.4trn) spending yearly.

Sylva stated this while inaugurating a nine-member governing council for the Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund (MDGIF) in Abuja.

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Sylva said the key cause of poor gas production, gas flaring and low domestic gas utilisation was Nigeria’s infrastructure deficit.

He said, “It is estimated that more than $20bn yearly will be required over the next 10 years to bridge these gaps.”

According to the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, the fund will be used to develop more gas pipelines and facilities to ensure availability as Nigeria harps on gas as its transition fuel.

The fund, established under Section 52 of the PIA, resides as a Directorate in the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).

Section 52 (3) provides for the Governing Council to supervise and make investment decisions for the Fund.

In March, 2021, President Muhammadu Buhari declared January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2030, as “The Decade of Gas Development for Nigeria”, primarily to set the road map towards a gas-powered economy by 2030.

Sylva said urgent steps need to be taken to bring gas infrastructure closer to “our people to enable them benefit from government policy in this regard”.

The council will identify stakeholders that can increase domestic utilisation of natural gas, LPG and auto gas, and develop a roadmap for making gas a value addition product.

While Sylva chairs the council, the Executive Director MDGIF at NMDPRA is the chief executive officer.