NMDPRA Begins Performance Review of Gas Distributors

The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has commenced a two-day performance review session with licensed gas distribution companies, as part of efforts to strengthen compliance and boost efficiency in the sector.

In a statement issued on Wednesday in Abuja, the authority said the review aligns with provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), which empowers the regulator to assess performance metrics and monitor service delivery among industry operators.

According to NMDPRA, the ongoing session focuses on key parameters including regulatory compliance, operational efficiency, and Health, Safety, Environment and Compliance (HSE&C) standards among licensed gas distributors.

The exercise comes at a time when Nigeria is facing persistent power shortages, despite abundant gas reserves. The Federal Government is hoping to scale up gas production and distribution as a means of addressing the country’s energy gap.

Speaking against the backdrop of Nigeria’s power crisis, President of the Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, recently criticised the nation’s low electricity output, arguing there is no justification for it.

“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.

He made the remarks during a recent tour of the Dangote Refinery in Lagos, where he also underscored the importance of private sector involvement in scaling Nigeria’s power capacity.

According to Dangote, Nigeria’s current output—hovering around 4,500 to 5,000 megawatts—is grossly inadequate for a population exceeding 200 million.

“There’s no reason why Nigeria should be doing 5,000 MW,” he insisted, describing the success of the Dangote Refinery project as proof that large-scale industrial development is achievable within the country.

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

Dangote further emphasized that achieving significant improvements in electricity generation—up to 30,000 megawatts—was less complex than constructing a refinery of the scale he had delivered.

“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.

He called for deeper private sector participation in the power sector, noting that the responsibility of solving Nigeria’s energy challenges should be shared between government and industry stakeholders.