European Union set to finance gas infrastructure expansion in Nigeria for export

In order to ensure the energy security of Africa and Europe, the European Union (EU) has declared its willingness to collaborate with the Nigerian government to finance a gas project in Nigeria.

This was discussed in a meeting when Mr. Matthew Baldwim, Deputy Director-General, EU Energy Platform Task-Force, visited Chief Timipré Sylva, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources of Nigeria, in his office in Abuja.

The construction of Africa's longest offshore gas pipeline that will transport gas to Europe is being planned by Nigeria and Morocco.

According to reports, the EU delegation met with the Minister for the second time in four months. The delegation also met with other important ministries that have important roles to play in ensuring energy security.

The Minister claimed that the breakthrough would speed up the EU's objective to ensure substitutes for Russian gas.

He deemed the aid, which included funding, private sector investment, technology development, and security, useful since it had finally allowed Nigeria to catch up to the rest of the world.

Additionally, he questioned the way the EU and other Western countries made investments in fossil fuels, claiming that in the future, fossil fuels would still be highly relevant and that gas will be used as a transition fuel. In order to enable sourcing funds under advantageous agreements, he encouraged the EU to appeal to their financial institutions to be willing to soften strict standards and remove bottlenecks interfering with loans.

Source