Nigeria’s Gas Infrastructure Fund Shrouded in Secrecy Amid Low Appetite by Players  

Peter Uzoho

More than a year after Nigeria’s Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund (MDGIF) was established, the status of the fund as per the amount accumulated so far has been shrouded in secrecy due to non-disclosure by the custodian and manager of the fund, THISDAY can authoritatively report.

Also, the level of access to the fund or disbursement for projects are still not made open for public awareness and scrutiny. The situation has started generating concerns from operators and players in the Nigerian oil and gas downstream sector who are supposed to draw from the fund.

In line with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, which provided for the establishment of the MDGIF, the federal government had in August 2022 floated its governing council, which signalled the commencement of the fund.

The initiative was expected to help bridge the huge infrastructure deficit which has been a major hindrance towards gas distribution and utilisation in the country, especially in the wake of the ‘Decade of Gas’ and energy transition policies of the nation.

The MDGIF was to be generated from a pool of a certain 0.5 per cent or so, paid by each of the oil marketing companies on every litre of petroleum products imported into the country either through private finance initiative (PFI) or through the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC).

The fund is currently domiciled as a directorate at the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) where an executive director of the Authority is serving as the chief executive officer of the MDGIF effectively making the Authority the custodian and manager of the fund.

The then President Muhammadu Buhari government had stated that over $20 billion would be needed yearly in the next 10 years to bridge the gas infrastructure gap in the country, which could exceed $200 billion in a decade.

However, THISDAY’s finding has revealed that over a year after the commencement of the MDGIF, there has been little or no information as to the amount realised so far, the level of compliance by the oil marketers in remitting the said 0.5 per cent, the number of applications received as well as number of projects funded or in the pipeline as at today.

At an industry event held in Lagos last month, the Executive Director of the MDGIF, Mr. Mansur Alkali, was asked to give an update on the amount collected so far but he parried the question and veered off from disclosing how much had been collected.

His refusal to disclose to industry stakeholders the amount realised so far elicited some misgivings as some players argued that the refusal to provide such important information called to question the extent of transparency and accountability in the management of the MDGIF.

A former Chairman of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) and Managing Director of 11Plc, Mr. Tunji Oyebanji, said he had no knowledge of the amount realised so far through the MDGIF since he was not the custodian. 

But the Executive Secretary of MOMAN, Mr. Clement Isong, confirmed that the stakeholders had been meeting with the NMDPRA to strategise on how to access the fund.