Nigeria puts money into gas drive

A state guarantee for the bulk of the financing needed for a big pipeline project suggests Nigeria is serious about boosting domestic gas supplies

Successive Nigerian governments have talked about better utilising the country’s vast gas reserves to drive economic growth—with little to show for it. But measures announced by President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration look set to get the sector moving.  The flagship projects in this push are two new gas pipelines and a series of power stations along their routes, designed to alleviate decades of inadequate electricity supply. The 614km Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) pipeline will take gas from the Niger delta to northern Nigeria, while the Escravos-Lagos Pipeline System (ELPS) 2 project will double the capacity of a pipeline serving the country’s largest city.  The government underscored its