Nigeria’s state-owned oil company, NNPC Ltd, is banking on the long-delayed Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano (AKK) gas pipeline to drive large-scale industrialisation in the country’s northern regions, its Group Chief Executive Officer, Bashir Ojulari, has said.

Ojulari described the project as a transformational investment capable of reshaping the economic landscape of northern Nigeria.

According to him, the completion of the pipeline’s main line marks a major breakthrough for a project that has faced years of technical and logistical setbacks.

The AKK pipeline, valued at about $2.8 billion, is designed to transport natural gas from southern Nigeria to key northern cities, unlocking energy access for industries long constrained by power shortages.

“This is not just about energy. “It’s about industrialisation, fertiliser plants, power generation, and gas-based industries in Kaduna, Kano, Abuja, and Ajaokuta.”
Bashir Ojulari, Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC

Ojulari revealed that NNPC has successfully completed welding the entire main line of the AKK pipeline, including the technically challenging River Niger crossing. The river crossing had stalled progress on the project for several years, making its completion a significant milestone.

“You remember sometime in summer, we were able to cross the River Niger which has been a struggle for many years,” he said, underscoring the scale of the challenge that engineers had to overcome.

With the main line now completed, NNPC is preparing to move into the next phase of the project, which involves linking distribution networks and facilities to the pipeline. Ojulari said these connections are expected to begin early next year.

“By completing this main line, what that means is that we can begin to make all the connections to the main line, which we will do in the earlier parts of next year.”
Bashir Ojulari, Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC

Gas Supply to Power Industrial Parks

The NNPC chief said the operationalisation of the AKK pipeline would allow gas to flow “in its full form” into northern Nigeria for the first time at scale.

He identified Kaduna, Kano, Ajaokuta and Abuja as immediate beneficiaries, with gas supply expected to support manufacturing, fertiliser production and electricity generation.

“We’re looking at Kaduna, Kano, and also of course, Ajaokuta, and Abuja where we begin to see industrialisation, industrial parks taking gas for gas-based industry, fertilizer plants, as well as generating power.”
Bashir Ojulari, Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC

Industry analysts say access to reliable gas could significantly lower production costs for manufacturers in the north, attract new investments and reduce regional economic disparities.

First conceived in 2008, the AKK pipeline is central to Nigeria’s long-term strategy of using its vast natural gas reserves to drive economic growth and industrial development.

Despite holding some of the world’s largest gas resources, Nigeria has historically underutilised gas, particularly in regions far from production hubs.

The northern part of the country has been especially affected by limited energy infrastructure, leading to chronic power shortages and weak industrial capacity. NNPC believes the pipeline could change that narrative by creating a backbone for gas-based development.

Ojulari said the expectation is that industrial parks will begin to emerge along the pipeline corridor, helping to stimulate job creation and value addition.

Rising Oil and Gas Production Targets

Beyond the pipeline, Ojulari also outlined NNPC’s broader production outlook. He said oil output is expected to increase to 1.8 million barrels per day in 2026, up from about 1.7 million barrels per day this year. Gas production, he added, will continue to rise alongside oil output.

He attributed recent gains to internal reforms implemented under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), which transformed NNPC into a commercially oriented entity.

According to Ojulari, oil production has already improved from around 1.5 million barrels per day in 2024 to over 1.7 million barrels per day in 2025.

Gas production has also increased, rising from about 6.5 billion standard cubic feet per day to more than 7 billion standard cubic feet per day.

“These improvements reflect the impact of internal restructuring and investment decisions,” he said, noting that NNPC now operates as a profit-driven company rather than relying on federal allocations.

Tinubu’s Investment and Production Ambitions

Ojulari said President Tinubu reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to attracting $30 billion in new investments into Nigeria’s energy sector by 2030.

The President is also pushing for oil production to reach 2 million barrels per day by 2027, as part of efforts to boost government revenues and economic growth.

The completion of the AKK pipeline, Ojulari suggested, aligns closely with these ambitions, particularly Nigeria’s push to monetise gas resources and support industrial expansion.

As connections to the pipeline begin next year, attention will turn to how quickly industries can take advantage of the new gas supply.

For NNPC and the federal government, the success of the AKK pipeline could become a defining test of Nigeria’s gas-led development strategy and its promise to unlock growth beyond the oil sector.