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Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, has been confirmed as a speaker at African Energy Week (AEW) 2026, scheduled to be held in Cape Town from October 12 to 16, as the country intensifies efforts to expand gas commercialisation, infrastructure development and industrial growth under its Decade of Gas initiative.
Ekpo’s participation is expected to showcase Nigeria’s push to attract investment into its gas sector and strengthen its position as one of Africa’s leading gas markets. The event will bring together investors, policymakers, technology providers and energy financiers focused on advancing energy projects across the continent.
Nigeria has recorded notable growth in its energy sector over the past year, driven by higher crude oil production, expanding gas infrastructure and increased domestic refining capacity. According to figures released by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), oil production rose to 1.71 million barrels per day between April 2025 and April 2026, representing the country’s highest output level in five years.
The increase was supported by infrastructure upgrades, upstream investments and average gas production of about 7.5 billion cubic feet per day. Progress has also been reported on key projects, including the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano pipeline river crossing and additional gas processing facilities to improve domestic supply and industrial utilisation.
Nigeria continues to advance regional gas integration through major cross-border pipeline projects. As chairman of the ministerial committee overseeing the West African Gas Pipeline, Ekpo recently disclosed that the project has transported more than 613 million British thermal units of natural gas since inception, with supply volumes rising by 22 per cent year-on-year.
The government is also progressing work on the Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline involving Nigeria, Algeria and Niger, as well as the Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline project, both of which are designed to boost regional energy security, expand export opportunities and strengthen Nigeria’s role in international gas markets.
Domestically, the gas ministry is overseeing strategic infrastructure projects, including the $1.2 billion Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben pipeline rehabilitation programme and the AKK pipeline project, both considered central to expanding gas supply to industrial and power-generation centres across the country.
The government is also promoting compressed natural gas transportation and wider adoption of liquefied petroleum gas. Earlier this year, the ministry launched a financing initiative to expand access to clean cooking solutions for five million households by 2030.
Beyond gas development, Nigeria’s energy sector is undergoing broader changes, driven by growth in domestic refining and increased participation by indigenous operators. The Dangote Petroleum Refinery continues to scale up operations toward its 650,000-barrel-per-day capacity target, while local companies have expanded their presence through acquisitions of onshore assets previously owned by international oil firms.
Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber, NJ Ayuk, described Ekpo’s participation at the conference as timely, noting that Nigeria is pursuing one of Africa’s most ambitious gas infrastructure and commercialisation programmes and is playing a growing role in regional energy integration and industrial development.
“Minister Ekpo’s participation at AEW 2026 comes at a pivotal moment for Nigeria’s gas industry and the wider African energy market. Nigeria is leading one of the continent’s most ambitious gas commercialization and infrastructure expansion strategies, and Minister Ekpo has become a central figure driving regional integration, industrialization and energy security,” Ayuk said.
Nigeria’s long-term energy strategy remains focused on gas-led industrialisation, infrastructure expansion and investment attraction, with the government positioning natural gas as a key driver of economic growth ahead of African Energy Week 2026.
