Overview
Natural gas occurs in the same Niger Delta basin as crude oil, both dissolved in oil as associated gas and in separate non-associated fields. For much of the industry's history the associated gas was flared rather than gathered, and building the plants and pipelines to use it became a long-running project in the south-south and beyond.
Where it's found
Gas is produced across the Niger Delta, with processing and export infrastructure concentrated in Rivers, Bayelsa, Delta and Akwa Ibom states. The best-known facility is the liquefied natural gas plant on Bonny Island in Rivers State, on land in Ijaw country; other plants supply domestic power stations and industry.
History of exploitation
Gas was encountered from the earliest oil discoveries in the 1950s but had no local market, and flaring became routine. Domestic use grew slowly from the 1970s and 1980s with gas-fired power generation and a fertiliser and petrochemical industry. Liquefied natural gas exports from Bonny began around 1999 after a long development period, and gas-gathering projects and pipelines to the north and to neighbouring countries followed in the decades after.
Economic role
Gas is treated as a long-term complement to oil in Nigeria's export and power sectors, and successive policy programmes have aimed at reducing flaring and expanding domestic supply. No current figures, prices or policy positions are given here.
Environmental and social impact
Flaring of associated gas has been documented as a source of local air pollution, noise, heat and greenhouse gas emissions in producing communities, and reducing it has been an objective of regulation and industry projects over many years. Pipeline routes and plant construction have also raised questions of land use and compensation in delta communities. As with oil, the outstanding disputes are not settled on this page.