• Nigeria selected 28 companies to develop gas-flare capture projects across 49 oil-production sites.

• The projects could deliver up to 3 gigawatts of power and attract about $2 billion in investment.

• Nigeria plans to convert up to 300 million standard cubic feet of flared gas per day into energy.

Nigeria faces a major electricity supply deficit, and federal authorities aim to reduce the gap by expanding the use of natural gas associated with oil production.

Nigeria selected 28 companies to develop gas-capture and gas-utilization projects that target associated natural gas currently flared at oil fields. The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, the public agency that regulates upstream oil and gas activities, issued the permits.

International media reported on Friday, December 12, 2025, that the projects cover 49 flaring sites located across Nigeria’s main oil-producing regions. The selected companies must capture associated gas, process it and convert it into electricity, liquefied petroleum gas or other industrial products.

The projects fall under the Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialisation Programme and represent a potential power capacity of up to 3 gigawatts. Through these projects, Nigeria aims to mobilize about $2 billion in investment. In late October, Agence Ecofin reported that Nigeria requires $34 billion to achieve universal access to electricity by 2030.

Each project requires the conclusion of technical and commercial agreements with oil operators. These agreements must cover connections to existing facilities, development of new infrastructure and commercialization of the captured gas.

The initiative operates against a backdrop of structural electricity shortages. In 2023, Nigeria’s installed power-generation capacity reached about 14 gigawatts, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Actual available generation remains far lower. In March 2025, power injected into the national grid ranged between 5,500 and 5,800 megawatts, despite a recent increase linked to grid rehabilitation work, Reuters reported.

Supply gaps stem from gas shortages, transmission constraints and outages at generation plants. In response, the gas-flare utilization initiative aims to convert 250 million to 300 million standard cubic feet of gas per day that operators currently flare into an additional energy source, according to the NUPRC.

This article was initially published in French by Abdel-Latif Boureima

Adapted in English by Ange Jason Quenum