Nigeria sets 2028 deadline to deregulate domestic gas market pricing
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority has committed to ending state-controlled gas pricing by September 2028, unlocking commercial off-take framework for industrial mini-grids, heavy transport decarbonisation,
Regulatory Roadmap End State-Controlled Tariffs by 2028
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority has established September 2028 as the definitive deadline to transition the Nigeria domestic gas market from administrative price capping to a market-driven, willing-buyer willing-seller structure. Announced at a Gas Market Maturity Workshop in Abuja under the Decade of Gas initiative, the regulatory body outlined a 24-month operational roadmap to evaluate market readiness before completely removing government price controls mandated under Section 167 of the 2021 Petroleum Industry Act.
The regulator established eight specific readiness metrics to measure structural maturity across the value chain: domestic supply volume, buyer diversity, open access to transport infrastructure, contract enforcement strength, payment reliability, delivery obligation compliance, price discovery transparency, and anti-competitive safeguards. Regulator chief Rabiu Umar confirmed that new gas distribution licenses will be issued in the fourth quarter of 2026, alongside newly drafted competition rules designed to prevent market dominance by monopoly operators. While Nigeria holds over 200 trillion cubic feet of proven natural gas reserves, domestic feedgas constraints continue to limit pipeline throughput, threatening processing capacity for major infrastructure projects including the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano pipeline. The transition aims to expand local utilization of compressed natural gas, liquefied natural gas, and liquefied petroleum gas to substitute imported diesel and heavy fuel oils across power generation and heavy transport.
Commercial Pricing Removes the Bottleneck to Captive Power and Industrial Financing
For over two decades, artificial price caps on domestic gas supplies starved midstream infrastructure of capital, forcing upstream extractors to prioritize international liquefied natural gas export contracts over domestic industrial demand. By anchoring domestic transactions in market-clearing rates, the regulatory transition
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Written by Elkanah Oluyori
Executive Director, Clement Isong Foundation Β· Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria
Elkanah leads Clement Isong Foundation with 16+ years of experience in green economy development, climate justice, and civic technology in Akwa Ibom State and Nigeria. He is the founder of GreenAccelerators, Nigeria's first green economy opportunity portal.
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