Nigeria has launched a second revision of its gas transportation network code as the country’s midstream and downstream regulator estimates that $30bn-$50bn in fresh oil and gas investment will be needed through 2030, including for gas processing, fertiliser production, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), flare-gas commercialisation and supporting infrastructure.

The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) unveiled Revision 2 of the Nigerian Gas Transportation Network Code at OTL Africa Downstream Energy Week in Lagos on October 26.

NMDPRA Authority Chief Executive Rabiu Abdullahi Umar said the framework establishes transparent, non-discriminatory access to gas transportation infrastructure, with rules governing capacity booking, gas nominations, balancing, measurement and gas quality.

The latest revision incorporates 28 amendments, including four principal changes covering Daily Reserved Pipeline Capacity Variation, Communication Protocol, Measurement Loss Factor and Balancing Neutrality Charges, according to conference reporting by Business Insight.

The changes are intended to give network users greater flexibility in reserved pipeline capacity, improve coordination during disruptions, standardise the treatment of measurement losses and clarify the allocation of balancing charges.

Introduced in 2020 and first revised in 2024, the code governs how producers, shippers and other users access shared gas transportation infrastructure. The regulator says clearer capacity-allocation procedures, cost-reflective tariffs and more consistent measurement should make network operations more predictable.

The revised code addresses transportation rules rather than the wider commercial constraints on gas development. Investment requirements, insufficient processing and transport infrastructure, domestic gas pricing and the availability of creditworthy customers remain obstacles to new projects, as IntelliNews reported in September.

Umar said major pipeline projects would substantially increase Nigeria’s gas transportation capacity. Figures presented at the conference put existing capacity at approximately 2.2bn cubic feet per day (bcfd), with new projects including the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) and Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben (OB3) pipelines expected to add about 2.0 bcfd, bringing total capacity to approximately 4.2 bcfd.

However, ThisDay separately reported Umar as projecting 4.4 bcfd following completion of the projects. The available accounts do not reconcile the 200mn-cubic-feet-per-day difference.

Pipeline completion figures also differ between government statements. NMDPRA’s September 2026 figures put AKK at 84% complete, OB3 at 96% and the Escravos-Lagos Pipeline System (ELPS) midline compressor project at approximately 97%.

On October 2, however, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas) Ekperikpe Ekpo told Reuters that OB3 had reached full completion and was being prepared for first gas, while AKK was approximately 95% complete.

State oil company NNPC’s July monthly report, published in early September, had already listed OB3 as 100% complete, with pre-commissioning finished ahead of first gas planned for August, and AKK at 95%. NNPC put OB3’s capacity at up to 2bn standard cubic feet per day along its 130km route.

The different figures have not been publicly reconciled, and the official accounts do not establish whether they use identical measures of construction progress. Completion of construction or pre-commissioning also does not necessarily mean a pipeline has entered commercial service.

Separately, the presidency said on October 22 that Lee Engineering was developing two midline compressor stations in Edo State intended to enable the expanded ELPS to operate at its design capacity of 2.3 bcfd. That system-specific capacity figure is not directly comparable with the regulator’s wider network projections.

Nigeria’s gas reserves and production have increased, although transportation and processing capacity remain constraints. Ekpo told Reuters earlier in October that proven natural gas reserves had reached 215.19 trillion cubic feet, while production had risen to approximately 7.5 bcfd from 6.8 bcfd in 2023.

Ekpo also said four gas projects worth about $3.5bn combined had reached final investment decisions, led by the roughly $2bn HI project, against a government target of $30bn in gas investment by 2030, Leadership reported. Separately, Nigeria LNG aims to start up its Train 7 expansion by the end of 2027, raising capacity from 22mn to 30mn tonnes per annum, Reuters reported in September.

Umar said more shippers had joined the transportation network since Revision 1 was introduced in 2024.

NMDPRA also reported a reduction of approximately 30% in gas imbalances on the Western Network following reconciliation work covering the first half of 2026. The regulator has not established how much of the improvement was attributable to the earlier code revision, and the reported figure does not identify a sufficiently clear comparison baseline.

Revision 2 includes initial provisions intended to support cross-border gas transportation. Their application to regional pipelines would require coordination with other countries’ regulators and network operators.

Nigeria already supplies Benin, Togo and Ghana through the West African Gas Pipeline, while two larger regional projects remain under development.

On July 19, heads of state from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) meeting in Freetown signed an intergovernmental agreement supporting the proposed African Atlantic Gas Pipeline, intended to connect Nigeria with markets along the West African coast and Morocco.

Morocco’s hydrocarbons agency ONHYM said the agreement opened the way for a project company based in Casablanca and a Pipeline Higher Authority headquartered in Abuja. Morocco and Mauritania were expected to complete a separate signing subsequently.

The project remains at a pre-construction stage, with no publicly announced construction-financing package or final investment decision, as IntelliNews reported in September.

In a separate development, Algeria’s state-owned Sonatrach said on June 4 that Algerian Energy Minister Mohamed Arkab, alongside officials from Nigeria and Niger, had formally launched construction work on the Algerian segment of the proposed Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline. The wider project is intended to connect Nigerian gas supplies through Niger to Algeria’s transportation network and export infrastructure.

Alongside the network-code revision, Umar said NMDPRA was reviewing its licensing arrangements to reduce administrative delays. Licences currently requiring annual renewal could be extended to five-year terms where appropriate, while eligible applicants may eventually be able to obtain licences remotely. Neither proposal was presented as a system-wide change already in force.

See IntelliNews: Nigeria targets October launch for 2026 oil, gas licensing round as output drive accelerates
See IntelliNews: ECOWAS members renew commitment to advance $26bn African Atlantic Gas Pipeline
See IntelliNews: Africa drives 96% of Eni’s net oil and gas production growth in Q3