Dr. Philip Mshelbila, Managing Director and CEO of NLNG, has emphasised the need for Nigeria to move beyond rhetoric and address the fundamentals of gas production and supply to achieve global competitiveness in the energy sector.
He made this remark during a strategic panel session on “Accelerating Gas Development for Domestic & Global Energy Needs” at the ongoing NOG Energy Week in Abuja.
Dr. Mshelbila highlighted the longstanding bottlenecks in Nigeria’s gas sector, noting that recent reforms have led to significant progress and renewed investment momentum. He said, “We need to have sufficient volume of gas. We should be able to produce and then transport them to where they are needed.”
The NLNG MD pointed to the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) of 2021 as instrumental in resolving key obstacles. “The PIA has dealt with many of these bottlenecks, and with a lot of governance and regulatory issues being addressed, this has enabled NNPC to play its role more effectively.”
According to Dr. Mshelbila, a better fiscal environment and targeted government policies have begun to attract foreign direct investment into the gas sector.
He noted that the fiscal environment has enabled investment and that the Presidential Directive for Gas has led to an influx of foreign direct investment into the gas space.
Dr. Mshelbila stressed the importance of strategic asset coordination and capital efficiency in delivering long-term value to the market. He advocated for better integration of all available assets within the gas value chain, saying, “We need to look at far more integrations, better integration of all available assets within the gas value chain. This is the far more efficient method for all stakeholders to save more money and deliver value to the stakeholders.”
He also called for a broader outlook beyond NLNG’s existing operations, advocating for diverse gas infrastructure investments, including floating LNG.
He said: “We can look at domestic possibilities to impact the delivery of more gas for domestic and global purposes. We need to look beyond NLNG and increase investment in Floating LNG and other investments to unlock the country’s gas potentials.”
Drawing comparisons between Nigeria and Qatar, Dr. Mshelbila said: “Qatar started in 1997, and Nigeria started in 1999. We are now patting ourselves on the back for getting to 30 million scf, while Qatar is aiming at over 140 million scf. That is what is possible, and that is what we can do as well.”
He emphasised the need for a change in mindset, warning that empty discussions without measurable performance discourage serious investment.
He said: “We have to start changing the narrative. Talk as much as you want, but if the results are not there, if performance is not there, and if people cannot invest their monies and get returns, then we are just wasting time talking.”
Dr. Mshelbila concluded that the narrative needs to focus on performance, creating an environment that allows investment to grow and brings returns to stakeholders.
He said, “Once we get that, we don’t have to go after chasing the narrative. It must speak for itself.”
