Nigeria struggles to realise gas potential

Africa's biggest economy is set to expand gas exports but domestic distribution remains a trickier proposition

Nigeria's domestic gas sector is struggling to capitalise fully on the potential of its sizeable gas reserves even though some big-ticket projects are emerging in the country. Seplat Petroleum's planned $700mn gas joint venture with the state-owned Nigeria Gas Company in Imo state is emblematic of what the government would like to happen more often – a high impact project run by a homegrown company. The Assa North-Ohaji South plant will process wet gas from Niger Delta crude producing blocks 21 and 53. It is slated to have a capacity of 300mn cubic feet a day (f3/d) with the first supply due in 2021. Another plant, run by Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), will process another 300m