Vice-President Kashim Shettima has revealed that Nigeria is actively pursuing a $25 billion investment to supply gas to Europe through the Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline project. During a meeting at the presidential villa on Monday with a delegation from Vitol Group, an independent commodity trading company, Shettima emphasized that the project is highly capital-intensive, with the estimated cost around that figure. He noted that Nigeria is seeking Vitol’s technical expertise to help bring the project to completion.
“We need you more for your technical expertise than for your money. Gas supply stability counts, that is why we are exploring the option of an undersea gas pipeline,” the vice-president said.
“it will be a completely transparent management structure”, urging Vitol to “come on board with this project,” Shettima said.
He described Nigeria’s gas sector as a beacon of stability and transparency amid global uncertainty.
“I will urge you to key into our nation’s energy transition programme. I want you to utilise your dominance in the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and Associated Petroleum Gas (APG) sub-sectors,” he said.
The vice-president said the world is changing and “ours is actually a gas and not an oil economy”.
“We have the eighth-largest gas reserve in the world. We really want to harness the potential in the gas sector fundamentally because of the stability and transparency in that arena,” he said.
“The Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (NLNG) has been largely insulated from government interference.
“What we are getting from the NLNG is so predictable. This is why we are seriously exploring the option of taking our gas to Europe.”
The vice-president said President Bola Tinubu’s bold economic reforms have positioned Nigeria as a leading destination for investment, particularly in the energy sector.
Shettima noted that Nigeria’s leadership transformation under Tinubu presents a unique and unparalleled opportunity for international investors.
“Most importantly is the leadership. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu grew up in that ecosystem, energy and finance,” he said.
“In the past 25 years, we have not had a leader who has the courage to take far-reaching decisions as he has taken, the removal of fuel subsidy, the unification of the multiple exchange rates, and the tax reforms.”
