On Friday, 6 November 2026, NNPC Limited, Nigeria’s state oil company, said its gas pipelines face no constraints and do not explain why power plants are producing less electricity. The statement, posted on its website on Saturday, 7 November, answers the national grid operator, which had pointed to thin gas supply and low river water.
Nigeria’s electricity generation has declined, and the oil company that owns the gas pipelines says they are not the cause. It wants gas suppliers, pipeline operators, power generators and the grid operator to review their data together.
NNPC says the pipelines run by NGIC, its gas infrastructure subsidiary, remain available to deliver gas to power stations nationwide without any constraints. NGIC’s operational records, it says, show no transport constraint that explains the current decline in electricity generation.
The statement was signed by Andy Odeh, NNPC’s Chief Corporate Communications Officer, in Abuja, the capital. It follows a statement by the Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO), the body that runs the national grid, on 5 November.
What NNPC Says
NNPC says gas production, supply contracts and actual deliveries to each plant must be judged separately from whether the pipelines are open. Those factors, it says, decide whether the gas that is supplied can be turned into electricity.
The company says the review should also cover how many generating units are available, when plants are being maintained and how much gas each plant actually takes. It calls for a joint look at the data by gas suppliers, pipeline operators, power generators and NISO.
NNPC says gas production volumes grew by about 10% in 2026 to date, and that gas supply availability is therefore not a challenge. NISO, by NNPC’s account, had cited limited gas availability and reduced water inflows to hydroelectric stations.
File photo. Central Lagos seen from above, September 2018. Photo: Subomi07 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)In Plain English
NNPC is Nigeria’s state-owned oil and gas company. NGIC is its subsidiary that runs gas pipelines.
NISO runs the national power grid. A generating unit is one turbine or engine inside a power station.
What Is Not Known
The statement gives no figures for gas delivered to power plants, for electricity generated or for the size of the shortfall. It does not say how much of the decline comes from gas, from low water at hydroelectric stations or from plant maintenance.
NISO’s 5 November statement is reported here as NNPC describes it. The dispute is about causes, and NNPC’s statement itself includes no plant-by-plant data that would settle it.
What It Means for You
For readers with money, family or travel plans in Nigeria, the point is that responsibility for lower power output is still being argued. NNPC says gas supply, plant readiness, maintenance and gas intake all have to be checked together.
NNPC’s call for a joint data review is the next step to watch. Until that data appears, the cause of the shortfall stays open.
For more on the company, see our reports on NNPC’s September profit, Nigeria’s plan to sell part of the state oil firm and calls to list NNPC on the stock market. More stories are in our Nigeria coverage.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is NNPC to blame for Nigeria’s lower power output?
NNPC says its pipeline network is not the cause and shows no transport constraints, and that gas supply availability is not a challenge. It says gas production, supply contracts, plant availability and maintenance must be checked too.
What is NGIC?
NGIC is NNPC Gas Infrastructure Company Limited, a subsidiary of NNPC. It operates the gas transportation network that carries gas to power stations.
Who is NISO?
NISO is the Nigerian Independent System Operator, which manages Nigeria’s power grid. NNPC says NISO’s 5 November statement cited limited gas availability and reduced water flows to hydroelectric stations.
Sources: NNPC Limited press statement “NNPC Confirms Gas Supply & Network Availability” (nnpcgroup.com, signed 6 November 2026, read 7 November 2026), which also describes the NISO statement of 5 November 2026: https://www.nnpcgroup.com/insights/press-statement-nnpc-confirms-gas-supply-and-network-availability.