Nigeria May Give Brazil Access to Oil, Gas Deposits Under Hydropower Deal

Nigeria, Africa’s top oil producer, may grant Brazil access to its oil and gas industry in return for the South American country’s participation in two hydropower projects, the Nigerian vice president said.

Brazil has expressed interest in completing the development of the Zungeru hydropower plant and financing the Mambilla hydropower project under a partnership that would allow the country to help develop Nigeria’s power industry, Namadi Sambo said in a statement on the presidency’s website.

The cooperation is a “welcome idea” because Brazil has comparative advantage in hydro-electric power generation, renewable energy and deepwater exploration of crude, said the statement dated yesterday.

Nigeria, which with more than 140 million people is Africa’s most populous nation, failed to meet a December 2009 deadline to double electricity output to 6,000 megawatts, a situation that leads to daily power cuts in most parts of the country.

The Mambilla project in the country’s northeastern state of Taraba will generate 2,600 megawatts when completed, Abuja-based Daily Trust quoted Nuhu Wya, minister of state for power, as saying on June 30. Zungeru, in north central Niger state, has capacity for 32 MW, according to the newspaper.

President Goodluck Jonathan announced a plan on Aug. 26 to expand power generation through private investment. The program includes selling 11 distribution companies created out of Power Holding Co. of Nigeria, the state-owned utility, and allowing private companies to set up power plants using natural gas, hydro-electric dams and coal-powered stations.

The government of the West African nation wants to boost generation to 14,019 MW by 2013, Barth Nnaji, the president’s adviser on power, said on Aug. 17.

To contact the reporter on this story: Paul Okolo in Abuja at pokolo@bloomberg.net

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