By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria plans to strengthen energy cooperation with Libya, a fellow African oil producer, through a potential gas pipeline deal, according to the Ministry of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas).
This follows a strategic meeting between the minister, Mr Ekperikpe Ekpo and Libya’s Minister of Oil, Mr Khalifa AbduAlsadik on the sidelines of the just concluded Gastech Exhibition and Conference 2024 in Houston, USA where the two ministers discussed developing a regional gas pipeline from Nigeria to Libya, aiming to boost energy security and cooperation.
The proposed Nigeria-Libya gas pipeline aligns with Nigeria’s “Decade of Gas” initiative and will join other existing projects like the ongoing Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) gas pipeline and the planned Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline (NMGP) project.
The Nigerian delegation at the meeting included Mr Olalekan Ogunleye, Executive Vice President of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited; Mr Maher Giundi, International Business Advisor to the GCEO of NNPC (Mr Mele Kyari); and Mr Odiong Ekanem, Technical Adviser to the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas) and Libya’s team comprised of Mr Basteet Al Ashab, Mr Khalid Jatbi and Mr Yousef Al Shatwi.
It occurs amid a political impasse in the North African producer that keeps impeding the country’s progress in the energy sector.
Libya, which before the current stalemate was pumping out roughly 1.2 million barrels of oil per day, was thrown into a deeper political crisis over the dispute over the direction of the Central Bank of Libya, the sole internationally recognized repository for Libya’s oil earnings.
The governor of the Central Bank of Libya, Mr Sadiq Al-Kabir, was replaced by the internationally recognized administration in Tripoli, the country’s capital.
Now, Libya’s oil production and exports are once again at risk due to the ongoing dispute between political factions and governments in the East and the West.
Recall that Nigeria also signed an agreement for the construction of the Gulf of Guinea Gas Pipeline Project – a joint regional pipeline development that will transport gas from Nigeria to Equatorial Guinea in August.
The deal, signed by Presidents Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo and Bola Ahmed Tinubu outlines a plan for a pipeline, LNG facility feedstock and gas sales to power companies and industrial users, ensuring energy security and regional trade in West Africa.