‘Natural Gas To Fuel High-speed Rail Network’

Minister of State Petroleum Resources (Gas), Dr. Ekperikpe Ekpo, has underscored the transformative imaginable of Nigeria’s immense state reserves successful powering the nation’s railway sector, peculiarly the 4,000 km, 350 km/h high-speed obstruction web poised to revolutionise connectivity and thrust concern maturation crossed Nigeria and Africa.

He stated this connected Tuesday successful an code astatine the International Railway Conference 2025, held successful Abuja by the Federal Ministry of Transportation successful collaboration with De-Sadel Nigeria Limited. He said the railway task volition unfastened caller frontiers for trade, investment, and concern maturation successful the country.

Ekpo said, “For decades, our federation relied connected crude lipid arsenic the superior operator of our economy, portion state was underutilised. Under the visionary enactment of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, this communicative is changing. The ‘Decade of Gas Initiative’ has repositioned state arsenic the centrepiece of our nationalist vigor strategy, transforming it from a by-product of lipid to the instauration of Nigeria’s economical and concern future.”

According to the minister, with proven state reserves of 210 trillion cubic feet and an estimated upside of 600 trillion cubic feet, Nigeria is poised to leverage state arsenic a clean, affordable vigor root to substance capital-intensive railway infrastructure. He said railway infrastructure is capital-intensive and requires sustainable, affordable, and cleanable vigor sources to run efficiently, and that Nigeria’s state resources supply a strategical solution.

Ekpo said expanding gas-to-power projects ensures reliable energy for railway stations, concern hubs, and municipality centres connected by the obstruction network. He said earthy state tin beryllium processed into cleaner transport fuels, specified arsenic Gas-to-Liquids (GTL) and LNG for transport, enabling modern obstruction systems to trim their c footprint portion ensuring outgo efficiency.

“The high-speed obstruction volition unlock caller economical corridors wherever gas-based industries, specified arsenic fertiliser plants, petrochemicals, methanol production, and compressed earthy state (CNG) hubs, tin flourish, transforming rail-connected cities into vibrant concern maturation centres,” said Ekpo. “With the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), gas-powered industries connected by high-speed obstruction volition heighten Nigeria’s relation arsenic the motor of West and Central Africa’s concern and vigor economy,” helium added.

Ekpo concluded that these efforts are aligned with President Tinubu’s “Renewed Hope Agenda”, which seeks to industrialise Nigeria, make jobs, and assistance millions retired of poorness done sustainable vigor and infrastructure development.