AKK Pipeline Nears Gas Delivery as NNPC Completes Main Transmission Line

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has completed the main transmission line of the Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano (AKK) gas pipeline, paving the way for gas supply to northern Nigeria and the expansion of gas-powered industries.

The Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Limited, Bayo Ojulari, disclosed this on Sunday after a meeting with President Bola Tinubu in Lagos.

Ojulari said the successful welding of the main line followed the long-awaited crossing of the River Niger earlier in the year, a major engineering challenge that had delayed the project for years.

According to him, the completion of the main pipeline allows NNPC to begin connecting key offtake points in early 2026.

“What this means is that gas will now move in its full form to Kaduna, Kano, Ajaokuta and Abuja,” Ojulari said, adding that the development would support industrial parks, fertiliser production and power generation across the region.

He explained that his meeting with the president was aimed at briefing him on NNPC’s performance in 2025 and outlining the company’s strategic focus for 2026.

Ojulari said reforms implemented within NNPC, with the backing of President Tinubu, had resulted in improved oil and gas output.

He noted that crude oil production had risen from about 1.5 million barrels per day in 2024 to over 1.7 million barrels per day in 2025, while gas production increased from roughly 6.5 billion to more than seven billion standard cubic feet per day.

Looking ahead, Ojulari said increasing production remains NNPC’s top priority in 2026, with the company targeting at least 1.8 million barrels per day of oil output next year, alongside further growth in gas production.

He said achieving the target would require attracting new investments and rationalising NNPC’s asset portfolio to unlock value from long-idle oil and gas fields.

The NNPC chief added that the company expects several major investment decisions in 2026 as part of efforts to drive incremental production.

Ojulari also disclosed that President Tinubu has directed NNPC to mobilise an additional $30 billion in investments by 2030 and increase national oil production to two million barrels per day by 2027.