The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) committed ₦473.8 billion to major gas infrastructure projects in 2025. The funding was provided to NNPC Gas Infrastructure Company Limited (NGIC), a wholly owned subsidiary of NNPC. The loan was granted to meet cash call obligations for the Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline, provide an equity injection into Anoh Gas Processing Company (AGPC), and finance the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) gas pipeline project.
According to NNPC's 2025 annual financial report, ₦14.4 billion of the facility remained undrawn as of December 31, 2025. The report stated that ₦25.7 billion in interest on the facility was outstanding as of the reporting date. The disclosure provides further details of NNPC's financial commitments to the expansion of Nigeria's gas infrastructure, particularly the proposed Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline.
The proposed Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline, also known as the African Atlantic Gas Pipeline, is expected to transport Nigerian natural gas through several West African countries to Morocco. The pipeline's proposed route will pass through Benin, Togo, Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, The Gambia, Senegal, and Mauritania before reaching Morocco. The project aims to improve regional energy access, support industrial development, and strengthen gas exports.
The AKK pipeline is a major domestic gas transportation project designed to move gas from southern Nigeria to the northern parts of the country. The project will support power generation, industrial activities, and other gas-consuming businesses. NNPC's financial statements did not specify how much of the ₦473.8 billion facility had been allocated exclusively to the Nigeria-Morocco pipeline.
NNPC's financial statements also showed a significant increase in lending to related parties during 2025. At the company level, loans to related parties rose to ₦939.253 billion from ₦185.544 billion in 2024, representing an increase of ₦753.709 billion, or about 406.2 percent. The 2025 balance included ₦211.642 billion lent to NNPC Energy Services Limited and ₦485.173 billion to NGIC.
Petroleum economist and Professor Emeritus at the LSU Energy Institute, Wumi Iledare, said NNPC's ₦7.2 trillion profit for 2025 should not be viewed in isolation as evidence of sustainable commercial operations. Iledare, who chairs the Nigeria Oil, Gas, and Energy Policy Forum in Abuja, said NNPC's annual financial performance must be assessed alongside asset productivity, cash flows, capital efficiency, and the ₦11.2 trillion energy-security receivable.
NNPC also reported a ₦21.943 billion loan to the African Medical Centre of Excellence, an associate, while loans to related parties at the group level totalled ₦52.853 billion. The company also provided ₦133.5 billion to Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company to finance invoice payments and tax obligations associated with its Quick Fix Maintenance project.
Key points
- NNPC commits ₦473.8 billion to gas infrastructure projects in 2025.
- ₦25.7 billion in interest on the facility remained outstanding at the end of 2025.
- NNPC's ₦7.2 trillion profit must be assessed alongside asset productivity, cash flows, and capital efficiency.
