The Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Mele Kyari has said that the Final Investment Decision for the $25bn Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline Project will be made in December 2024.

Kyari made the disclosure while speaking during a Leadership Dialogue Session at the ongoing CERAWeek Conference in Houston, United States, on Tuesday.

According to him, the project, which is at an advanced stage, will create a pipeline that will pass through thirteen African countries to Europe.

Kyari stated that the NNPC Ltd’s focus is to build its capacity to deliver gas to the domestic market and beyond.

He pointed out that as a gas-endowed country, Nigeria must utilise its abundant gas resources to provide the alternative fuel that it needs.

“We understand the arguments towards attaining energy transition, but the cheapest way to achieve that is through gas. We see clear opportunities that gas creates. Today we are building a number of trunklines and other gas infrastructure that will supply gas to a number of gas networks,” Kyari said.

Kyari also said Nigeria was fighting the menace of crude oil theft frontally and through the joint efforts of government and private security agencies, there have been some reasonable improvements in the restoration of the nation’s crude oil production.

He added, “It is an abnormal situation, but it is well within control. We were able to recover some of our production and build back confidence so that investors could bring in their money. We are also doing global advocacy to governments and institutions because stolen oil has to be taken to the market.”

He said an example of the improved security situation was when in 2022, Nigeria’s production fell below one million barrels per day but has now been restored to 1.7 million barrels per day.

As global calls for transition to cleaner energy fuels continue to grow, Kyari also advocated for a differentiated approach to attaining energy transition for the African continent.

According to him, energy transition is a very difficult subject for countries especially in sub-Saharan Africa because geographically, the situations are different as a number of the countries are dealing with energy availability, not transition.

“The world has seen all the challenges thrown up recently by geopolitical events. It is clear that before the energy transition, countries must first attain security of energy supply in their countries. You cannot talk about energy security when it is not even available.

“In most of sub-Saharan Africa, 70 per cent of the population doesn’t have access to clean cooking fuels. Therefore, you must fill the supply gap first,” the NNPCL GCEO stated.

Organised by S&P Global, the conference has grown in recent years to accommodate new energy technologies and climate issues. The 2024 conference is expected to have participants from over 90 countries and will feature 1,400 speakers.

Under the theme “Multidimensional Energy Transition: Markets, Climate, Technology and Geopolitics” the CERAWeek 2024 will explore “strategies for a multidimensional, multispeed and multifuel energy transition,” as the global energy industry tries to respond to, and offer insight into the roadmap towards, growing demand for emissions reductions and moving towards cleaner forms of energy.