NIGERIA: $2.8bn AKK Gas Pipeline Nears Completion, Set For Activation In Early 2026 – NNPC GCEO

By Onoja Baba, Nigeria 

The Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Limited, Bashir Ojulari, has announced that the long-delayed $2.8 billion Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano gas pipeline project is on track for activation in early 2026, following the successful completion of its main line welding, including the challenging River Niger crossing.

Ojulari disclosed the milestone after briefing President Bola Tinubu on the project’s progress, alongside Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas) Ekperikpe Ekpo and other executives.

He described the River Niger crossing, completed earlier in the year after years of technical hurdles, as a pivotal breakthrough that now enables final connections to commence in the coming months.

Once operational, the pipeline will transport natural gas across northern Nigeria, fueling industrialisation through fertiliser plants, power generation, and gas-based industries in key hubs like Kaduna, Kano, Abuja, and Ajaokuta. Ojulari emphasised its broader economic impact, predicting the emergence of industrial parks that will drive job creation and regional growth, transforming energy access in an area long hampered by infrastructure deficits.

The GCEO also outlined NNPC’s production outlook under the Petroleum Industry Act reforms, projecting oil output to rise from 1.7 million barrels per day this year to 1.8 million in 2026, with sustained gas increases. He credited the company’s commercial repositioning for eliminating reliance on federal allocations, aligning with President Tinubu’s targets of attracting $30 billion in investments by 2030 and reaching two million barrels per day by 2027.

Conceived in 2008 as a cornerstone of Nigeria’s gas utilisation strategy, the AKK pipeline promises enhanced energy security and industrial revival in the north. Its imminent completion signals renewed momentum in leveraging the nation’s vast gas reserves for sustainable economic development.