The Federal Government of Nigeria, through the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), has announced plans to end regulated pricing in the domestic gas market by September 24, 2028. The move will transition the sector to a fully established willing-buyer, willing-seller framework.
Chief Executive of the NMDPRA, Rabiu Umar, disclosed this on Thursday at the Gas Market Maturity Workshop organised under the Decade of Gas initiative at the Petroleum Technology Development Fund in Abuja.
Umar stated that the transition will be guided by measurable conditions demonstrating the maturity of different segments of the gas market, in line with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
“Gas must be affordable for Nigerians while supporting President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s investment reforms. This transition is in line with the Nigeria Decade of Gas goal to become a gas-powered economy by 2030,” he said.
He explained that the PIA envisaged a shift from a market largely coordinated through regulation to one driven increasingly by commercial contracts between willing buyers and willing sellers.
“Invariably, this is the first time that we have been bold enough to set a clear target for our gas market transition,” Umar noted.
According to the NMDPRA boss, the Authority is targeting a 24-month period to establish the conditions required to declare the market a fully functioning willing-buyer, willing-seller market.
Key indicators of market maturity identified by Umar include supply availability and diversity, the number and quality of buyers and sellers, access to transportation infrastructure, strength of contracts, payment reliability, delivery obligations, market information, and credible price signals.