Nigeria Exports 42% More Gas Than It Supplies Domestically

By Olumide Johnson

Nigeria continues to export more natural gas than it supplies domestically despite holding more than 200 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of proven reserves and implementing nearly two decades of gas policies. The imbalance is raising concerns over energy security, industrial competitiveness and access to affordable cooking gas.

DEVELOPMENT

Data from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), obtained by Financial Vanguard, showed that Nigeria exported 3.83 Tcf of gas between 2022 and 2025, against domestic sales of 2.69 Tcf. Between January and August 2026, exports reached 733.8 billion cubic feet (Bcf), compared with domestic sales of 516.8 Bcf.

Maxi Colman Obasi, National President of the Oil and Gas Services Providers Association of Nigeria (OGSPAN), said that shortages were increasing business costs and limiting industrial output.

“Despite Nigeria’s large gas reserves, inadequate domestic supply means the country is not fully converting its resources into economic growth, jobs and industrial development,” Obasi said.

Bassey Essien, Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers (NALPGAM), said: “Gas exports generate foreign exchange, but the domestic market must also be commercially attractive enough to secure adequate supply. The solution is not to stop exports but to make the domestic market competitive enough to attract supply while preserving export earnings.”

Essien said that the Domestic Gas Delivery Obligation (DGDO) could not guarantee physical delivery where infrastructure and payment systems remained inadequate. He added that the proposed Gas Swap Framework could improve distribution by connecting producers with available gas to operators with evacuation capacity.

Prof. Ken Ife, Lead Consultant for Industry and Private Sector Development at the ECOWAS Commission, identified payment arrears, pipeline vandalism and infrastructure deficiencies as major constraints.

“When GenCos owe gas producers huge sums and prefer to settle in naira, as required under the PIA, including Domestic Gas Obligations, DGO/DCO, while pipeline vandalism continues to disrupt supplies, gas producers have very little room to manoeuvre,” Ife said.

He stated: “Nigeria’s gas challenge is no longer simply about how much gas the country has in the ground. It is about how quickly it can turn those reserves into reliable, commercially viable supplies for the domestic economy while sustaining the export revenues needed to finance further investment.”

DATA

Cumulatively, Nigeria exported approximately 4.56 Tcf between 2022 and August 2026, against domestic sales of 3.21 Tcf, leaving exports about 42 percent higher. The country also imported an estimated 1.94 million metric tonnes of LPG between 2021 and 2023.

SIGNIFICANCE

Unreliable gas supplies constrain electricity generation, manufacturing, fertiliser production and other gas-dependent industries. Imported cooking gas also exposes households to international supply conditions and foreign-exchange pressures.

NEXT MOVE

Stakeholders want investment in the OB3 pipeline, ELPS expansion, gas gathering and processing facilities, transmission infrastructure, compression systems and LPG storage and distribution. They also seek improved payment security, pipeline protection and incentives for domestic supply.

OUR LENS

Nigeria’s challenge is not simply gas production but value conversion. The National Gas Policy, Petroleum Industry Act and Decade of Gas Initiative must deliver measurable domestic supply alongside export earnings. As Essien argued, “The key question should be how much economic value is created from every molecule produced.”

Olumide Johnson is a journalist, reporting on energy, maritime, business, and developments shaping Nigeria’s economy.