Nigeria updates gas policy, but ability to deliver is key

With cabinet approval for a comprehensive new National Gas Policy (NGP) and ministers proposing other initiatives to drive the economy out of recession and improve living standards for the majority of Nigeria’s 186m population, President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration promises to implement genuine reforms that could eventually confirm Nigeria’s claim to become a major emerging market. Properly implemented, the NGP and associated policies could open the way for a functioning electricity supply industry to emerge. This would be driven by gas-fired generation plants and privately owned distributors who would benefit from a more transparent, efficient gas industry. As ever, everything depends on whether policy commitments can be implemented.