Elohor Aiboni, Managing Director of Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited (SNEPCO), forecasts a three billion cubic feet per day gas supply crisis in Nigeria by 2030.
Speaking at the annual conference of the Nigerian Council of the Society of Petroleum Engineers in Lagos in 2023, Aiboni stated that despite having the largest proven gas reserves in Africa, “Nigeria could see gas demand outstrip gas supply by at least three billion cubic feet per day by 2030.”
The expected rise in population, diminishing infrastructure, security climate, and access to energy, according to Aiboni, who was represented by SNEPCo Finance Manager Tunde Oduwole, will create the gas supply Crisis. She recommended Nigeria and other African countries to continue to improve their fiscal conditions, political climate, energy policies, and contractual terms in order to attract investors and energy businesses.
While Africa’s oil and gas sectors offered opportunities for FDI, Aiboni stated that such capital would “preferentially go to countries with more stable macro-economic policy environment, low or moderate inflation, stable interest rates, stable or predictable exchange rates, easy access to foreign exchange, and minimal capital controls.
“Because of the large amount of capital required for gas reserve development, the SNEPCo CEO also advised African countries to take intentional steps to seek foreign direct investments in order to harness their substantial gas resources.
She urged the continent to create a stable social, political, and economic climate, as well as open trade and fiscal policies, in order to attract investments in its gas sector.
According to recently released estimates from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, FDI in Africa would fall from $80 billion in 2021 to around $45 billion in 2022.
She described the situation as a troubling vacuum in investment as developing countries strove to meet the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. According to Aiboni, worldwide agreements to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as well as the push by hydrocarbon resource-poor countries to minimize reliance on fossil fuels and expedite the development of renewable energy, have influenced FDI inflows.
“It is now more important than ever that African oil and gas producing countries take action to create enabling environments, improve access to available capital pools, and attract the right talent.”
