LAGOS — Nigeria must urgently convert its enormous natural gas reserves into electricity, industrial production and economic opportunities if it wants to emerge as Africa’s leading gas economy, Seplat Energy Plc has said.
The company warned that simply possessing gas underground would not solve Nigeria’s energy problems.
Seplat Energy Chief Executive Officer Effiong Okon made the call at the Gas Investment Forum 2026 in Lagos.
Represented by the company’s Director of Gas and New Energy, Okechukwu Mba, Okon said Nigeria’s more than 215 trillion cubic feet of proven gas reserves presented an enormous opportunity.
But that opportunity would remain largely theoretical without sustained investment in production, processing, pipelines and distribution.
“Gas reserves in the ground do not power homes or factories,” he said.
Okon said the urgency was particularly significant because about 600 million people across Sub Saharan Africa still lack electricity.
He welcomed government efforts to address outstanding financial obligations in the gas to power industry and said implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act had improved the investment environment.
The commencement of operations on the Obiafu Oben Obtikom gas pipeline was also identified as an important development.
Seplat currently operates significant gas infrastructure, including the 375 million standard cubic feet per day Oben Gas Plant, the 90 million standard cubic feet per day Sapele Gas Plant and the 300 million standard cubic feet per day ANOH Gas Plant.
The company supplies gas directly to six power stations and several industrial customers.
Its acquisition of ExxonMobil assets has also expanded its contribution to domestic butane and liquefied petroleum gas supplies.
Seplat is investing in compressed natural gas infrastructure to reach consumers outside conventional pipeline networks.
Okon said the company ended routine flaring across its onshore operations at the end of 2025.
He called for greater cooperation between government, investors, energy companies and financial institutions.
Nigeria, he argued, must move from repeatedly discussing its gas potential to building the infrastructure capable of turning that potential into electricity, industrial production, employment and export earnings.
