FG Reviews Gas License Holder as Dangote Urges Private Sector Involvement

• Companies holding gas distribution licenses began a performance assessment with the (NMDPRA) in Abuja to evaluate operational effectiveness and adherence to safety standards
• Alhaji Aliko Dangote criticized Nigeria's low power generation, advocating for increased private sector involvement and a target of 60,000 MW of electricity production
• He highlighted that large-scale projects, like the Dangote Refinery, prove that Nigeria can achieve such energy goals with sufficient private sector contribution

Legit.ng journalist Zainab Iwayemi has 5-year-experience covering the Economy, Technology, and Capital Market.

Companies that currently hold gas distribution licenses began a two-day performance assessment session with the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) in Abuja.

According to the operator's statement, the review is conducted in accordance with the Petroleum Industry Act's (PIA) provisions.

The PIA requires the regulatory review to guarantee and track industry performance metrics and the quality of services rendered by authorized operators.

NMDPRA states that the review's main objectives were operational effectiveness, regulatory compliance, and the licensed gas distribution activities' adherence to Health, Safety, Environment, and Compliance (HSE&C) standards.

The trend coincides with Nigeria's low power generation and the Federal Government's efforts to increase gas production and consumption in the nation.

Alhaji Aliko Dangote, the president of the Dangote Group, recently stated that there was no excuse for Nigeria's poor power generation output, claiming that the nation ought to be producing far more since his conglomerate alone is capable of producing over 1,500 megawatts for internal use.

During a recent tour of the Dangote Refinery in Lagos, Dangote made the statements, highlighting the company's growing energy footprint and advocating for further private sector participation in electricity generation.

He believes that Nigeria ought to produce up to 60,000 MW of electricity rather than 4,500 to 5,000 MW.

“We as a company alone are producing, group-wide for our consumption, over 1,500 MW.

“So, Nigeria should not be three times what we are producing as a country. Nigeria should be at about 50,000 MW to 60,000 MW,” Dangote said.

Nigeria presently generates roughly 5,000MW of electricity for its over 200 million population. Dangote hailed what had been achieved at the refinery as proof that large-scale industrial projects were achievable in Nigeria, especially in the power industry.

“What we have done here just shows that there’s nothing impossible. All this can be replicated in our power sector.”

The business tycoon pointed out that increasing Nigeria's power to 30,000 MW would be easier than establishing the refinery.

He went on to say that the government was not solely responsible for developing the nation's electricity infrastructure, emphasizing that substantial private sector involvement was both required and feasible.

“What we have actually done here is much more difficult than making Nigeria 25,000 or 30,000 megawatts of power, with transmission and distribution. But it’s not the work of government alone,” he said.

FG grants NNPC, others licence for gas distribution

Legit.ng reported that the Nigerian government gave six businesses ten gas distribution licenses (GDL) to boost the nation's gas consumption campaign.

The Nigerian government gave six businesses ten gas distribution licenses (GDL) to boost the nation's gas consumption campaign.

The government claims that the GDL, which is granted to qualified applicants to distribute gas at the "last mile," is a license that grants the sole right to establish, build, and run a gas distribution system in a designated local Gas Distribution Zone (GDZ) as stipulated in Sections 148–152 of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).

Source: Legit.ng