Setbacks owing to the years of unrest in the Niger Delta region and the delay in execution of the Chevron-operated West African Gas Pipeline project, initially estimated to cost $620 million, THISDAY reliably learnt, may have pushed up the cost to about $1billion.
Also, delay in achieving construction and production deadlines for new Liquefied Natural Gas Projects (LNG) expected to add about 40 million metric tonnes of LNG between 2010 and 2012 have adversely affected Nigeria's profile in the world LNG market.
It is feared that the country's rising profile in the global market may be dampened in the next couple of years, due to rising LNG production from other competitors and emerging markets.
Already, Nigeria, investigations revealed may have lost its LNG market to other competitors and emerging markets, as new projects were put on hold, due to Federal Government's policy to prioritise domestic gas projects, so as to ensure availability of gas for power generation.
LNG production from Nigeria at the moment comes from the six trains in Bonny Island.
The LNG train 7 was expected to come on stream between next year and 2011 for the production of 8.5 million metric tones of LNG, while the 8th train was scheduled for 2011 and 2013 in the same capacity.
However, the take-off dates for these projects, as well as the Brass LNG and OkLNG projects have suffered set backs due to the Federal Government's policy shift and militancy in the Niger Delta.
The West African Gas Pipeline project was initiated by the governments of Benin, Ghana, Nigeria and Togo to make natural gas supplies available to feed gas-fired generating plants.
The World Bank provided a guarantee of $50 million for Ghana, while the Bank's Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency also provided a $75 million political risk guarantee for the project.
The project was first mooted in 1982 and the first feasibility study was carried out 10 years later with the legal framework laid in 2000.
The project, which runs both onshore and offshore, through the Republic of Benin, Togo and terminate in Ghana, was initially scheduled to flow gas from the Escravos to Egbin power station in Lagos and some West African countries by June 2005.
Initially, the project was to have terminated in Senegal, but this was shelved owing to political instability in several countries where the pipelines would run through, notably Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone and Liberia.
It also suffered series of delays, which made the completion date to be shifted from November 2005 to December 2006, and later, April 2007 and then December 2008 because of attacks by the militants and other problems.