Despite holding more than 200 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of proven natural gas reserves, Nigeria continues to channel significantly more gas to foreign buyers than to its domestic market, according to single-source reporting by Vanguard.
Export Volumes Consistently Exceed Domestic Sales
Data obtained from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) by Vanguard reveals that between 2022 and 2025, Nigeria exported 3.83 Tcf of natural gas, compared to 2.69 Tcf sold in the domestic market. This represents a difference of approximately 1.15 Tcf, or 43 percent, in favour of international exports.
The trend persisted into the first eight months of 2026, during which the country exported 733.8 billion cubic feet (Bcf) while allocating 516.8 Bcf to domestic buyers. Cumulatively, from 2022 through August 2026, Nigeria exported approximately 4.56 Tcf of gas against roughly 3.21 Tcf sold locally, establishing an export surplus of around 42 percent over domestic supplies.
Two Decades of Policy Wobbles and Local Impact
The persistent gap exists despite nearly 18 years of targeted policy initiatives designed to establish natural gas as the backbone of Nigeria’s industrial growth. Frameworks including the National Gas Policy, the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), the Domestic Gas Delivery Obligation (DGDO), the Decade of Gas Initiative, various infrastructure projects, and a proposed Gas Swap Framework have struggled to align domestic incentives with production realities.
Speaking to Vanguard, Maxi Colman Obasi, National President of the Oil and Gas Services Providers Association of Nigeria (OGSPAN), warned that local shortages are undermining the country’s economy. Obasi stated that supply deficits reduce the availability of gas-fired power generation, forcing manufacturers to rely on expensive diesel, which drives up production costs and operating expenses across fertiliser, petrochemical, and manufacturing plants.
Heavy Reliance on Imported Cooking Gas
The domestic bottleneck is also prominent in the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) segment. According to figures from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Nigeria imported approximately 1.94 million metric tonnes (MT) of cooking gas over a three-year span.
In 2021, Nigeria imported about 500,000 MT of LPG against a total consumption of 800,000 MT. In 2022, imports reached 800,000 MT out of 1.4 million MT consumed. By 2023, imports made up roughly 47 percent of national consumption, accounting for about 639,000 MT of the 1.36 million MT consumed nationwide.
Infrastructure Gaps and Commercial Disincentives
Industry leaders argue that the dilemma is rooted in logistical and economic bottlenecks rather than resource scarcity. Bassey Essien, Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers (NALPGAM), told Vanguard that regulation such as the DGDO cannot resolve shortages without adequate gathering, processing, transportation, and payment systems.
Essien advocated for completing critical projects, including the OB3 pipeline and the Escravos-Lagos Pipeline System (ELPS) expansion, alongside commercial mechanisms like the proposed Gas Swap Framework to connect stranded gas with available infrastructure.
Additionally, Prof. Ken Ife, Lead Consultant for Industry and Private Sector Development at the ECOWAS Commission, highlighted widespread commercial misalignments. Ife pointed out that electricity generation companies (GenCos) owe gas producers substantial sums and prefer settlement in naira, while gas investments require foreign currency predictability and dollar benchmarks to service debt and purchase equipment. Along with recurring pipeline vandalism, these financial delays have left upstream operators with limited incentives to prioritize domestic delivery over export contracts.