Shell’s commitment to Nigeria

November 8, 2022

Ed Ubong, managing director of Shell Nigeria Gas (SNG), talks to The Energy Year about the company’s operations in Nigeria, its transition to become a part of Shell Energy and its plans for growth. Fully owned by Shell, SNG supplies natural gas to industrial customers in Nigeria.

This interview is featured in The Energy Year Nigeria 2023

Can you give us an overview of Shell Nigeria Gas?
Initially, Shell Nigeria Gas was part of Shell Upstream, but we have changed our internal dynamics and are now part of Shell Energy. Shell Energy is our energy products trading arm, and it will enable us to grow even faster. Our target is still to deliver cleaner fuels for the industrial and commercial sectors in Nigeria. We now have operations in six states and have connected about 135 industrial customers with agreements in place to connect 30 more. Our industrial complex in Ogun State is the densest industrial complex in the country and has a capacity of 400 MW.

What is the company’s current footprint in the Nigerian energy industry?
We have also further developed gas flows to the Lekki area in Lagos by signing an agreement with the Nigerian Gas Company. Our next target is to reach Ibadan with our gas infrastructure. We have already signed an MoU with the state government, and we are looking at the feasibility of establishing a 100-kilometre pipeline. We are also targeting Bayelsa State: we recently signed an agreement with the NCDMB Energy Park, and we will deliver gas there. The Park should be operational by Q1 2023.
In Abia State, we are focusing on Aba, one of the oldest industrial cities in Nigeria, by developing a 20-kilometre network of lines which will connect them to the main gas hubs of the region. A third party is expected to join and will oversee the distribution of electricity to that market. In partnership with Philips Consulting, we will commission the single largest study ever done of the gas market in Nigeria, which will cover at least 30% of the country. Lastly, we will provide close to 50% of the gas volumes needed to run the Dangote Fertiliser Plant.

Where do you see Shell Nigeria Gas in the future?
We expect massive growth thanks to Shell Nigeria Gas now being part of the global Shell Energy. We also have Shell Energy Ghana, and we want to expand along the West African coast. Under the right conditions, we are exploring how to deliver up to 1 bcf [28.3 mcm] per day of gas by the end of the Decade of Gas [2030]. Shell is here to stay to support Nigeria’s industrialisation via gas, and we have very aggressive targets for the future.

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