Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja
Nigeria’s gross natural gas production increased by 18.36 per cent between the first half of 2024 and H1 2026, rising from 1,205,000.81 Million Standard Cubic Feet (MMSCF) to 1,426,237.86 MMSCF, but posted a 3.08 per cent growth from 1,383,656.28 MMSCF year-on-year, a THISDAY review of data from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has shown.
The steady three-year upward trajectory highlighted an encouraging recovery and expansion across Nigeria’s gas basins, driven primarily by non-associated gas (NAG) developments and expanding export market deliveries.
A breakdown of the performance figures indicates a landmark pivot in the source of Nigeria’s gas production. For the first time in the three-year comparative period, Non-Associated Gas (NAG) production also outstripped Associated Gas (AG) output in H1 2026.
Specifically, NAG production surged to 717,539.64 MMSCF in H1 2026, accounting for 50.31 per cent of total volumes produced. This represented a robust 14.87 per cent growth over the 624,638.88 MMSCF recorded in H1 2025, and a remarkable 40.42 per cent expansion when compared with the 511,001.31 MMSCF produced in H1 2024.
Conversely, Associated Gas (AG), which is produced alongside crude oil operations, contracted by 6.63 per cent year-on-year to 708,698.21 MMSCF in H1 2026, down from 759,017.40 MMSCF in H1 2025. In H1 2024, AG production stood at 693,999.51 MMSCF.
The growing dominance of NAG reflects ongoing commercial investments targeted specifically at dedicated gas developments under the federal government’s ‘Decade of Gas’ initiative, as the country continues to hold the position that it will deploy gas as a transition fuel.
On the utilisation front, Nigeria posted its best commercial efficiency performance over the three-year period. Total gas utilised in H1 2026 reached 1,322,862.93 MMSCF, representing a record 92.75 per cent overall utilisation rate. This compares favourably to the 92.47 per cent utilisation rate (1,279,401.45 MMSCF) recorded in H1 2025 and 92.24 per cent (1,111,484.21 MMSCF) achieved in H1 2024.
Besides, Export sales served as the main catalyst for the 2026 growth story, bolstered by strong international demand and improved Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) feedstock deliveries. Gas exports jumped to 563,183.93 MMSCF in H1 2026, a steep 22.46 per cent rise compared to 459,900.33 MMSCF in H1 2025, and a 27.70 per cent leap from 441,024.75 MMSCF in H1 2024.
In contrast, domestic commercial gas sales experienced a minor pullback in 2026 after a strong rally in 2025. Domestic market supply stood at 381,159.66 MMSCF in the first six months of 2026, down 4.67 per cent from the 399,835.82 MMSCF delivered to local power plants and industrial consumers in H1 2025.
However, the H1 2026 domestic supply volume remains 23.65 per cent higher than the 308,250.58 MMSCF logged during the same period in 2024, maintaining a healthy baseline for domestic industrial consumption.
In the same vein, field operations and internal consumption across production facilities, categorised as field use, stood at 378,519.36 MMSCF in H1 2026. This reflected a 9.80 per cent drop from the 419,665.29 MMSCF consumed in H1 2025, but a 4.50 per cent increase over the 362,208.19 MMSCF recorded in H1 2024.
Significantly, the NUPRC data highlighted tangible progress in the federal government’s environmental campaign against gas flaring. Total volume of flared gas declined to 97,625.64 MMSCF in H1 2026, down 5.18 per cent from 102,962.70 MMSCF flared in H1 2025. In H1 2024, flaring stood at 91,917.40 MMSCF.
In percentage terms, flaring intensity dropped to a three-year low of 6.84 per cent of total gross production in H1 2026. This represented a clear improvement over the 7.44 per cent flaring rate recorded in H1 2025 and 7.63 per cent observed in H1 2024, signaling enhanced field discipline, stricter enforcement of penalty frameworks, and greater operational capture of solution gas.
However, gas shrinkage, which is the volume loss experienced during processing and transportation, saw an uptick in H1 2026 to 5,749.26 MMSCF, largely influenced by processing line volumes recorded in the early months of the year. This compared to 1,292.15 MMSCF recorded in H1 2025 and 1,599.91 MMSCF in H1 2024.
Overall, the THISDAY analysis indicated a strengthening upstream gas sector characterised by rising gross volumes, expanding export revenue capacity, structural diversification toward non-associated gas fields, and consistent reductions in gas flaring rates.