• Nigeria completes AKK gas pipeline construction, crossing Niger River
• Project to connect northern cities to gas network by 2026
• Pipeline aims to boost power, fertilizer and gas-based industries

Construction of Nigeria’s Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) gas pipeline has been completed, including the successful crossing of the Niger River, previously one of the project’s most significant technical hurdles, state-owned oil company NNPC Ltd said on Sunday, December 28.

NNPC Chief Executive Bashir Ojulari said overcoming this obstacle would allow the pipeline to be tied into the national gas transmission network by early 2026, enabling gas deliveries to Kaduna, Kano, Abuja and Ajaokuta.

Speaking after a meeting with President Bola Tinubu, Ojulari said the project’s importance extends beyond energy supply. The pipeline is intended to support the development of gas-based industries, including power generation, fertilizer production and other industrial activities located along its route.

First conceived in 2008 at an estimated cost of $2.8 billion, the AKK pipeline is a central pillar of Nigeria’s strategy to monetize its natural gas resources. Authorities have identified the country’s northern region, long affected by structural deficits in energy infrastructure, as a key beneficiary.

Nigeria, one of Africa’s leading gas producers alongside Algeria and Egypt, holds an estimated 209 trillion cubic feet of proven reserves but continues to face structural challenges. Despite repeated project announcements, national gas production declined by 1.2% between 2022 and 2023, according to the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. Large volumes of gas are also still flared due to insufficient transport and processing infrastructure.

The AKK pipeline forms part of a broader reform agenda that includes the 2021 Petroleum Industry Act, the Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialization Programme and policies promoting the domestic use of compressed natural gas. Without concrete progress across these initiatives, the pipeline’s capacity to drive large-scale industrial development in northern Nigeria may remain below the government’s stated ambitions.

Olivier de Souza