The historic initiative was unveiled by the Honourable Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Rt. Hon. Ekperikpe Ekpo, at a well-attended ceremony held at the Congress Hall of Transcorp Hilton, Abuja.
Speaking at the event, Minister Ekpo described the launch as “a transformative milestone” that fully aligns with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which has deliberately positioned natural gas as the cornerstone of Nigeria’s energy transition, industrial revolution and economic diversification strategy.
“This Gas Trading Licence and the accompanying digital Clearing House and Settlement platform mark the beginning of a new era where natural gas will be traded with the same efficiency, transparency and trust as crude oil on global exchanges,” Ekpo declared.
He commended the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), led by Authority Chief Executive Engr. Farouk Ahmed, and JEX Markets Limited – the licensed operator of the electronic trading platform – for their technical excellence and collaborative spirit in delivering the framework within record time.
According to the Minister, despite possessing the largest natural gas reserves in Africa (officially 209.5 trillion cubic feet proven, with upside potential exceeding 600 Tcf), Nigeria has historically been unable to translate this endowment into broad-based prosperity because of the absence of a liquid, well-regulated domestic market.
“The missing link has always been an efficient marketplace that guarantees transparent price discovery, secure settlement and enforceable contracts. Today, we close that gap,” he stated.
The new Gas Trading Licence, issued under Sections 110–115 and 173 of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, establishes stringent eligibility criteria including:
- Demonstrable technical competence in gas handling and logistics
- Minimum paid-up share capital of ₦5 billion and evidence of financial soundness
- Robust health, safety and environmental (HSE) management systems
- Mandatory registration on the JEX electronic trading platform
- Compliance with domestic gas delivery obligations under the Domestic Gas Delivery Obligation (DGDO) regulations
- Licensees will be classified into three categories: Gas Traders (physical delivery), Gas Brokers (non-physical), and Market Makers (liquidity providers).
The accompanying Gas Clearing House and Settlement Authorisation empowers JEX Markets Limited to operate a fully digital, blockchain-enabled platform that provides:
- Real-time price discovery through anonymous order matching
- Standardised master trading agreements
- Daily mark-to-market valuation
- Central counterparty clearing to eliminate settlement risk
- Escrow-based payment settlement within T+1
Minister Ekpo emphasised that the reforms will deliver three immediate strategic outcomes:
- Access – Only credible, well-capitalised entities will be admitted, thereby building market confidence and reducing speculative behaviour.
- Dependability – Standardised reporting, audited metering and regulated settlement cycles will drastically minimise counterparty default risks that have plagued bilateral gas contracts for decades.
- Affordability – Heightened competition and lower transaction costs will translate into more competitive gas prices for power plants, fertiliser companies, cement manufacturers and other industrial off-takers.
He disclosed that the framework is designed to directly support President Tinubu’s Decade of Gas initiative, which targets 7–10 million tonnes per annum LNG export growth, 5 GW of gas-to-power addition by 2030, and the construction of over 3,000 km of new gas transmission pipelines.
The Minister revealed that the Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialisation Programme (NGFCP), the Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline, the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) Pipeline, and the ongoing OB3 and ANOH gas processing projects will all benefit from increased private-sector funding now that investors can hedge price and volume risks on a regulated exchange.
Ekpo urged gas producers, shippers, distributors, power generating companies (GenCos), fertiliser and petrochemical plants, and financial institutions to immediately apply for licences and onboard the JEX platform.
“I call on banks, pension funds and development finance institutions to develop innovative gas financing products – project finance, warehouse receipts, commodity-linked bonds – because the market now has the transparency and legal certainty that investors have demanded for years,” he said.
Authority Chief Executive of NMDPRA, Engr. Farouk Ahmed, who also spoke at the event, confirmed that the first batch of Gas Trading Licences will be issued before the end of January 2026, with the electronic platform going live for test trading in February and full commercial operations commencing in Q2 2026.
He disclosed that over 40 companies – including international oil companies (IOCs), indigenous producers, trading houses and industrial off-takers – have already submitted expressions of interest.
The Chief Executive of JEX Markets Limited, Mr. Emmanuel Egbogah, demonstrated the live platform to guests, showing real-time bid/ask spreads for Henry Hub-linked Nigerian Domestic Gas Pricing (NDGP) contracts and physical delivery at virtual hubs in Escravos, Obia, Obiafu-Obrikom and the Eastern Gas Grid.
Also present at the launch were the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum Resources (Gas), Mr. Nicholas Agbo Ella; Group CEO of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), Mr. Mele Kyari; Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Decade of Gas, Dr. Ifeanyi Okoye; representatives of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), and major industry associations.
Industry stakeholders hailed the development as the most significant reform in Nigeria’s gas sector since the passage of the PIA in 2021. The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) issued a joint statement welcoming the initiative for its potential to create thousands of skilled jobs along the gas value chain.
Analysts estimate that a liquid domestic gas market could unlock between $10–15 billion in new investments over the next five years and reduce Nigeria’s annual $3.5 billion LPG and fertiliser import bill by at least 60% through enhanced local supply chains.
“With this historic Gas Trading Licence, we open a new chapter in Nigeria’s energy history – one defined by transparency, competitiveness and inclusive growth,” Minister Ekpo concluded.
