Africa Must Turn Gas Wealth Into Industrial Growth, Jobs – Esimone

Esimone stated this on Wednesday in Abuja while speaking at the 3rd Annual EMOGAS International Natural Gas-Based Industry Conference and Exhibition.

According to him, Africa has continued to struggle to translate its enormous gas wealth into sustained industrial development and broad-based economic prosperity, despite holding significant reserves.

He noted that the continent must move beyond debates on the size of its gas deposits to focus on how the resources are developed responsibly, how producer partnerships are strengthened and how investments are attracted and retained for long-term growth.

“The more important questions are how do we develop these resources responsibly? How do we create stronger producer partnerships? How do we attract and sustain investment?” Esimone asked.

The conference, themed “Accelerating Africa’s Global LNG Trade Share and Driving Gas Industrialisation Through Innovative and Strategic Upstream Petroleum and Gas Producer Synergies and Investment Decisions,” is exploring practical ways of unlocking Africa’s gas potential through collaboration, innovation and strategic investment.

Esimone, who is also the Pro-Chancellor of the European University, stressed the need for synergy among governments, industry players, academia and entrepreneurs to transform natural gas resources into commercially viable products and services that benefit the population.

He explained that governments have a responsibility to create an enabling policy and regulatory environment, while the private sector must bring in capital, technology and operational expertise to develop the sector.

According to him, Africa’s ability to translate its gas wealth into real industrial growth will depend not only on the resources it possesses, but on how effectively it deploys innovation, technology and skilled manpower.

He warned that Africa should not remain a mere consumer of emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, advanced data analytics, digital twins and automation, but should develop, adapt and commercialise home-grown solutions that address its unique industrial challenges.

Esimone called for increased investment in human capital development and stronger collaboration between universities, research institutions, government agencies and industry to give African engineers, scientists and entrepreneurs a more central role in the energy value chain.

In his remarks, the Founder of Emogas Limited and convener of the conference, Mr. Emeka Okafor, said Nigeria needs stronger collaboration among government, industry, investors and indigenous businesses to turn its gas resources into industrial growth and economic opportunities.

“Nigerians have no business being poor,” Okafor said, stressing that the country must move beyond raw resource extraction to building domestic industries, strengthening indigenous technology and expanding local participation across the entire gas value chain.

He urged the Federal Government to create a more favourable investment climate and to ensure that gas projects are awarded on merit rather than on the basis of political patronage, which he said leads to poorly executed projects and wasted resources.

Also speaking, the General Manager, Midstream Monitoring Division at the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, NCDMB, Mr. Ozimede Suleiman, said the Board is deploying various financing programmes to help Nigerian businesses overcome funding challenges and scale up participation in the gas sector.

Suleiman, who represented the Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Mr. Felix Ogbe, said the Board can take equity stakes in emerging Nigerian gas companies and appoint representatives to their boards to monitor investments and ensure returns.

He also highlighted the Nigerian Content Intervention Fund, NCIF, which provides affordable financing for companies to refinance high-interest loans, ease cash flow pressures and improve business sustainability.

He said such interventions are critical in addressing the financing constraints that have limited indigenous companies’ access to commercial bank loans and hindered their growth in the oil and gas industry.

Suleiman added that under the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act, companies seeking to operate in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry are required to submit Nigerian Content Plans detailing how local businesses will be integrated into their operations, which the Board reviews before issuing relevant certificates.

He urged Nigerians to explore emerging opportunities across the gas value chain, especially in areas such as Compressed Natural Gas, CNG, and other downstream ventures, as the global energy transition evolves.