Nigeria’s gross gas production has risen to 7.63 billion standard cubic feet per day from about 6.83 billion standard cubic feet per day in 2023, the presidency has said.

Olu Verheijen, special adviser to the president on oil and gas, disclosed this at the Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce Energy Day 2026 on Tuesday.

Ms Verheijen also disclosed that the nation’s proven reserves now stand at over 215 trillion cubic feet of gas.

She said the monumental increase was achieved through targeted presidential directives, which improved the environment for deep-water, non-associated gas and midstream infrastructure.

Ms Verheijen disclosed that over $4 billion in international oil company divestments were refocused on deep-water and integrated gas. She said the feat was also achieved because President Bola Tinubu’s administration successfully addressed the cost of doing business.

According to her, contracting that once took 36 months now takes around 14 months, while the government is driving toward a target of 6.

“The market responded. Nigeria’s share of African upstream Final Investment Decisions rose from about four per cent in the year 2023 to roughly forty per cent across 2024 and 2025. With the development, about $10 billion was committed, with a visible pipeline of some $500 billion ahead.

“Stalled projects are moving again, including Bonga North, Ubeta and HI gas developments and new non-associated gas developments that anchor long-term supply to our LNG exports. When Nigeria improves the rules of the game, capital returns to the field,” Ms Verheijen said.

Beyond increasing production, Ms Verheijen said the administration repositioned gas as the foundation for industrialisation. According to her, the administration does not see gas as merely a transition fuel but as a development fuel, central to power, fertiliser, petrochemicals, clean cooking, CNG transport, LNG exports, and manufacturing.

“The goal is not simply to produce more gas, it is to ensure Nigerian gas becomes Nigerian power, Nigerian products, Nigerian jobs and Nigerian exports. A nation does not grow wealthy by owning resources. It grows wealthy by converting them into value,” Ms Verheijen said.

Ms Verheijen said Mr Tinubu’s administration is restoring financial viability to the gas-to-power chain. She noted that for years the power sector was constrained by accumulated arrears, weak payment discipline, and tariff distortions.

Ms Verheijen said that the Presidential Power Sector Debt Reduction Programme was designed to address the challenges directly.

“Under it, generation companies have signed full and final settlement agreements worth about N2.28 trillion. The N501 billion Series 1 bond was issued and oversubscribed, with payments to generation and gas companies now underway.

“A second series of N729 billion will follow to complete the first phase,” Ms Verheijen said.

Ms Verheijen restated that the fund was not a bailout, but a strategic reset that cleared verified arrears, restored liquidity, and gave operators the footing to invest with confidence.

(NAN)