Lhe German Chancellor Olaf Scholz declared that his country was ready to invest in Nigerian gas and critical minerals during his visit to two sub-Saharan African countries. Nigeria remains Africa's largest oil producer.
Scholz wants to diversify and secure his country's energy supply by importing natural gas from this African country. After meeting President Bola Tinubu in Abuja, the Nigerian capital, Scholz said This will have an impact on the world price of gas". If more countries offered their natural gas and increased their supply on the world market, world prices would fall, said the German Chancellor.
Tinubu highlighted Nigeria's considerable resources and said, "We are ready to encourage investment in a gas pipeline." He encouraged German companies to invest in pipelines in Nigeria.
Germany has been struggling to secure its gas supplies for the coming winter. The country has sought to diversify away from Russian gas since the outbreak of war in Ukraine, while France's nuclear shutdown in 2022 has also put a strain on energy supplies. In 2022, the German government has therefore decided to extend the operation of its nuclear power stations. policy, which has been extended to 2023.
Importing gas from Nigeria will help to secure an alternative energy supply for Germany. Germany currently imports crude oil from the West African country, but no gas.
Nigeria also wants to attract investors to its mining sector which currently contributes less than 1% of the GDP of Africa's largest economy. According to the research company Oxford Business Group There are many untapped mineral resources in Nigeria, including gold, iron ore and recently discovered lithium.
While remaining vague on the details, Scholz stated that German companies could build railways in Nigeria. China is currently building the largest number of railways in the African country.
Scholz will travel to Ghana on Monday. He met the president of the commission of the West African regional group ECOWAS and stressed that he would work with the bloc to prevent putsches (violent attempts to overthrow a government) from becoming a trend following the recent military coups in Niger and Gabon.