The Federal Government has announced plans to establish a National Gas Infrastructure Command Centre as part of efforts to strengthen oversight, transparency and coordination across Nigeria’s gas sector.
To drive the initiative, government has inaugurated a Steering Committee and a Joint Technical Working Group with responsibility for policy direction and technical delivery of the project. The command centre is expected to operate as a central digital platform that provides real time visibility of the country’s gas infrastructure and commercial flows.
The project is backed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and draws its legal basis from the Petroleum Industry Act of 2021. Officials say it supports the national objective of increasing gas production to 12 billion standard cubic feet per day by 2030, while improving regulatory effectiveness and investor confidence.
Under the approved structure, the command centre will be delivered through a private sector led public private partnership. The Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission will provide regulatory oversight, while the Federal Government will not commit public funds to the project. Engineering Automation Technology Limited, an indigenous technology company, is serving as project promoter and will lead system design and funding mobilisation in partnership with its equipment suppliers.
Speaking at the inauguration in Abuja, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Gas, Ekperikpe Ekpo, said the command centre would support gas to power delivery and broader industrial growth under the Decade of Gas programme. He explained that the Steering Committee would ensure policy alignment and coordination among relevant agencies, while the technical working group would focus on system architecture, data standards, operating procedures and risk management.
He said government expects clear deliverables, regular progress updates and recommendations that translate into measurable improvements in sector performance.
Managing Director of Engineering Automation Technology Limited, Dr Emmanuel Okon, said the platform would enable continuous monitoring, operational coordination and improved emergency response across Nigeria’s gas infrastructure. He added that greater transparency across pipelines, processing facilities and gas flows would help improve safety, efficiency and utilisation.
Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Patience Oyekunle, described the project as a critical national asset that would strengthen automation and coordination in the sector, while also supporting job creation and industry capacity development.
Director General of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission, Dr Jobson Ewalefoh, said the commission would ensure strict compliance with regulatory standards and due process throughout project execution, describing the command centre as both a governance tool and a strategic national asset.
Also speaking, the Executive Vice President for Gas, Power and New Energy at the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Mr Olalekan Ogunleye, expressed the company’s readiness to work with private investors to achieve the Federal Government’s gas sector objectives.
The Steering Committee is chaired by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Gas, with the Permanent Secretary of the ministry serving as alternate chair. Its membership includes representatives of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and Engineering Automation Technology Limited.
The Joint Technical Working Group comprises representatives from Engineering Automation Technology Limited, the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, the Office of the Minister of State Gas, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, the Gas Aggregator Company Nigeria Limited and the Decade of Gas Secretariat.
Officials say the success of the new command centre will be critical to improving governance, efficiency and long term investment in Nigeria’s gas industry.
