Nigeria: OB3 Gas Pipeline 98% Done, First Gas Expected in August

Nigeria's Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben (OB3) Gas Pipeline is 98 per cent complete and set to deliver first gas this month, NNPC Limited has said, while the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline has reached 94 per cent completion.

The disclosure was made by the General Manager, Community and Stakeholders Relations at Pipeline Infrastructure Nigeria Limited (PINL), Dr Akpos Mezeh, at the company's August 2026 Stakeholders Engagement Forum.

He said the progress on both pipelines forms part of wider gains in Nigeria's oil and gas sector, which he linked to improved security around national pipeline assets.

Mezeh said cooperation among host communities, security agencies and government institutions had strengthened protection of the Trans Niger Pipeline (TNP), the Eastern Gas Network and other critical infrastructure.

Nigeria's gas deals and earnings

Mezeh disclosed that NNPC recently signed gas sale and purchase agreements worth more than $20 billion, covering over two billion standard cubic feet of gas daily for LNG exports and domestic industrial supply. The deals include partnerships involving the Dangote Refinery.

He also gave details of NNPC's June 2026 operational performance. The company recorded a Profit After Tax of N535 billion, a 16 per cent rise from N462 billion in May. Revenue for June stood at about N4.39 trillion, while statutory remittances to the Federation Account reached N6.286 trillion in the first half of the year.

Crude oil production dropped slightly to 1.72 million barrels per day, but natural gas output rose to about 7.84 billion standard cubic feet per day.

Mezeh said Nigeria also signed an Intergovernmental Agreement for the 6,900-kilometre African Atlantic Gas Pipeline (AAGP), which will carry 30 billion cubic metres of natural gas yearly from Nigeria to Morocco through 13 West African coastal countries. The project is being promoted jointly by NNPC Limited and Morocco's Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines (ONHYM).

He said cases of attempted sabotage, vandalism and equipment failure were still recorded in some areas over the past month, though the company responded quickly with repairs and arrests of suspects.

"World-class energy infrastructure can only thrive where pipelines are secure, communities are peaceful and stakeholders work together," he said.

Communities help guard pipelines

The Head of Field Operations, Eastern Corridor, at the NNPC Project Monitoring Office, Akponime Omojevwhe, praised host communities for backing pipeline surveillance.

He said two operational zones recorded zero incidents between January and June, and asked other communities to do the same, noting that early information from residents is important to protecting national assets.

Chairman of the South-South Monarchs Forum, King Sergeant Awuse, said PINL had changed pipeline security through its work with communities, adding that vandalism cases had reduced sharply since the company took over protection of the assets.

He asked the federal government to keep supporting the company, saying better pipeline security had helped raise oil production and national income.

Women leader from Ohaji-Egbema, Violet Asor, praised PINL's scholarship, empowerment and welfare programmes. She asked for more inclusion of women and more jobs for youths and women in host communities.

The OB3 and AKK pipelines are central to NNPC's plan to boost domestic gas supply for industry and power generation, while the AAGP agreement positions Nigeria as a major gas supplier to West African and North African markets in the coming years.