FG Considers Domestic Gas Supply Framework - Leadership

President Umaru Yar'Adua says the federal government plans to evolve a gas supply and pricing regulatory framework as part of the reforms in the sector.

He made the announcement yesterday in Abuja at the opening of a two-day stakeholders' forum on gas development, organised by the federal ministry of energy and the NNPC.

The President declared: "The new regulation will mandate all operators in the country to set aside a pre-determined amount of gas reserves and production for the domestic market.

"It also outlines the national gas pricing policy, a sector-based pricing structure aimed at stimulating the growth of both the power and industrial sectors."

He said the prioritisation of the local supply of domestic gas over export remained a fundamental philosophy in the new regulation, to make gas available and affordable.

Yar'Adua said that energy security and its linkage to economic growth was central to government's development agenda.Full Story