Nigeria’s domestic gas suppliers delivered an average of 2.05 billion cubic feet of gas per day in the first half of 2026, achieving only about 65 per cent of the country’s Domestic Gas Delivery Obligation target, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission has disclosed.

The development highlights a persistent gap between gas allocated for domestic use and the actual volumes delivered to industries, power plants and other local consumers, prompting the regulator to introduce a Gas Swap Framework aimed at improving compliance.

The Commission Chief Executive of the NUPRC, Oritsemiyewa Eyesan, disclosed this during the recently concluded stakeholders’ workshop on the Gas Swap Framework for Domestic Gas Delivery Obligation held in Abuja.

The workshop, organised by the commission, was aimed at deepening stakeholders’ understanding of the proposed Gas Swap Framework as a practical mechanism to improve compliance with the Domestic Gas Delivery Obligation and obtain industry input before implementation.

This was contained in a statement issued on Friday by the Head, Media and Corporate Communications of the commission, Eniola Akinkuotu.

The statement read, “Nigeria’s average Domestic Gas Delivery Obligations performance rose to 2.05 billion cubic feet (Bcf) daily year-to-date ending June 2026.”

Delivering the keynote address through the Executive Commissioner, Development and Production, Enorense Amadasu, Eyesan described the Domestic Gas Delivery Obligation as one of the Federal Government’s most critical policy tools for ensuring that gas produced in Nigeria supports economic growth and domestic industrialisation.

Providing an update on industry performance, she said only 27 out of about 63 producing companies were allocated Domestic Gas Delivery Obligations, while only 23 of the allottees were actively supplying gas to domestic customers.

According to her, average domestic gas delivery stood at 2.05 billion cubic feet per day between January and June 2026 against a 7C1 Domestic Gas Delivery Obligation allocation of 3.16 billion cubic feet per day, translating to a compliance level of about 65 per cent.

Eyesan said the figures showed that allocating more companies to the scheme alone would not guarantee improved domestic gas supply.

She said, “The YTD June 2026 data, however, shows that a broader allocation base does not automatically translate into actual delivery.

“This delivery gap underscores the need for practical, innovative, and market-responsive solutions that protect the integrity of the obligation while enabling real physical delivery of gas to domestic users. It is in this context that the proposed Gas Swap Framework becomes especially important.”

She explained that the proposed Gas Swap Framework was designed to address logistical and infrastructure constraints preventing some producers from meeting their obligations.

According to the commission’s chief executive, the framework will allow operators whose gas is stranded or cannot be easily evacuated to fulfil their Domestic Gas Delivery Obligations by partnering with operators that already have the infrastructure required to transport and deliver gas to designated domestic customers.

Eyesan said, “With the right commitment and implementation, the framework will help turn obligation into actual supply, make better use of existing assets, support gas-to-power delivery, and build greater confidence in Nigeria’s domestic gas market.”

She urged industry stakeholders to support the initiative, stressing that collaboration between producers, transporters and regulators would be critical to improving domestic gas availability and strengthening Nigeria’s gas value chain.

The Domestic Gas Delivery Obligation is a regulatory mechanism introduced under Nigeria’s gas policy to ensure that a specified portion of gas produced by upstream companies is reserved for domestic consumption, particularly for electricity generation, industrial manufacturing and other strategic sectors.

The initiative forms part of the Federal Government’s drive to leverage the country’s vast gas reserves to boost economic diversification, deepen industrialisation and improve energy security.

However, industry stakeholders have consistently identified infrastructure limitations, evacuation constraints and commercial challenges as key factors affecting full compliance with the obligation.