The Niger Delta Power Holding Company Limited (NDPHC) has advanced plans to provide dedicated electricity supply to the Nigerian Oil and Gas Park in Odukpani, Cross River State, through a strategic partnership with the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB).

The collaboration, which began with the submission of an Expression of Interest by the customer in 2025, has now progressed to a major engagement held on 25 February 2026, marking a critical step toward project execution and delivery.

Under the arrangement, as stated in a statement signed by NDPHC’s Head of Corporate Communications and External Relations, Emmanuel Ojor, NDPHC will supply 10 megawatts (MW) of electricity from its Calabar Generation Company Limited.

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The dedicated power provision is expected to ensure a stable, reliable, and sustainable energy supply for industrial operations within the park, addressing one of the key constraints to manufacturing and processing activities in Nigeria.

The Nigerian Oil and Gas Park in Odukpani is conceived as a strategic industrial hub aimed at supporting downstream oil and gas operators.

The facility is expected to facilitate the production, processing, and distribution of refined petroleum products and gas-based materials, while also promoting local manufacturing of equipment and components used in the sector.

A call has gone to the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) the members of the Crude Oil Refinery Owners Association of Nigeria (CORAN) to start participating in the next oil block licensing round as a strategic option for securing affordable crude feedstock for their refineries.

The Chief Executive, NUPRC, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, made the on Wednesday during a courtesy visit by members of CORAN to the Commission’s headquarters in Jabi, Abuja, where both parties held discussions on strengthening domestic refining capacity, crude supply sustainability, and collaboration between upstream producers and local refiners.

According to Eyesan greater participation of indigenous refiners in upstream asset ownership would help create more stable and commercially viable crude supply arrangements, while also deepening local participation across the petroleum value chain.

She further assured members of CORAN that Nigeria has sufficient crude resources to support domestic refining ambitions and reiterated the Commission’s commitment to promoting policies that prioritize in-country value addition.

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Eyesan therefore encouraged refinery operators to enter into long-term crude supply contracts with producers as a practical mechanism for ensuring predictable feedstock availability, operational planning, and pricing stability.

The NUPRC Chief however, acknowledged that infrastructure limitations must be tackled before the country can witness seamless crude supply to local refineries. She identified issues such as inadequate pipeline networks, evacuation bottlenecks, storage constraints, marine logistics, and other supply chain gaps as areas requiring urgent investment and coordinated action.

Members of CORAN used the visit to commend the Commission’s ongoing regulatory reforms and its support for domestic refining development, while also emphasizing the need for stronger implementation of frameworks that guarantee regular crude supply to local plants.

Industry stakeholders have increasingly argued that improved access to crude feedstock remains central to reducing Nigeria’s dependence on imported petroleum products, strengthening energy security, conserving foreign exchange, and creating jobs through the growth of local refining capacity.

The meeting is seen as another step in ongoing engagements between regulators and private refinery operators aimed at unlocking the full potential of Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector.

Nigeria’s gas industry supplied 62 percent of gas produced to foreign markets in the first quarter of 2026, though the domestic demand remained largely unmet.

This was detailed in data from factsheets by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), an average of 4.832 bscf/day was produced during the quarter but allocations increasingly skewed toward exports — leaving power generation, industries, and households under pressure.

The factsheet showed that while production remained relatively stable — January (4.837 bscf/day), February (4.771 bscf/day), and March (4.888 bscf/day) — domestic utilization steadily weakened as export demand intensified.

In contrast, average daily gas supplied to the domestic market dropped to 1.906 bscf/day in January, 1.763 bscf/day in February, and 1.855 bscf/day in March, indicating that the local market is increasingly treated as a balancing segment — absorbing cuts whenever export demand rises.

At the center of this shift is the Nigeria LNG Limited, which saw gas supply to its six operational trains rise consistently from 2.931 bscf/day in January to 3.018 bscf/day in February and 3.033 bscf/day in March.

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By March, NLNG alone accounted for about 62% of total gas exports, significantly tightening volumes available for domestic use.

The factsheet showed that sharp decline in gas allocations to thermal power plants nationwide is driven primarily by allocation and offtake decisions rather than any underlying supply shortage.

Gas-to-power supply declined sharply by 25% within one quarter, dropping from 0.648 bscf/day in January to 0.536 bscf/day in February and 0.485 bscf/day in March.

This contraction directly correlates with persistent grid instability and electricity shortfalls nationwide witnessed during the quarter.

Average daily gas supply to industrial users remained largely flat — 0.431 bscf/day in January, 0.440 bscf/day in February, and 0.430 bscf/day in March — indicating that constraints on manufacturing and petrochemical output stem less from infrastructure limitations and more from inconsistent allocation of gas.

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s cooking gas market tipped into deficit.

Supply, which stood at 5,110 MT/day in January and 4,703 MT/day in February, failed to keep pace with demand in March, where 4,726 MT/day supply lagged behind 5,122 MT/day consumption, resulting in an approximately 400 MT/day shortfall.

This tightening supply to demand balance has sustained high retail prices, which ranges from N950/kg to N1,550/kg during the quarter, thereby forcing many households to revert to alternative fuels such as charcoal and firewood.

Commercial gas supply showed moderate volatility, rising from 0.573 bscf/day in January to 0.628 bscf/day in February, before easing to 0.601 bscf/day in March, showing uncertainty in supply planning for commercial users — particularly in emerging segments such as CNG-based transportation.

In contrast, supply to gas-based industries — including fertilizer, petrochemicals, and manufacturing — remained largely flat at 0.431 bscf/day in January, 0.440 bscf/day in February, and 0.430 bscf/day in March, pointing to stagnation in industrial feedstock availability.

This suggests that constraints are driven less by processing capacity and more by inconsistent and unreliable gas allocation.

Despite the Petroleum Industry Act’s intent to safeguard domestic supply through delivery obligations, findings indicate these commitments are increasingly being sidelined, as export-oriented allocations take precedence.

On the export front, combined flows through NLNG and the West African Gas Pipeline averaged about 0.156 bscf/day in Q1, reinforcing the steady outward push.

The LNG shipments alone grew by 6.4%, rising from 52,857 MT/day in January to 56,241 MT/day in March, outpacing every domestic segment.