Government has reassured investors in the West African Gas Pipeline (WAGP) that the policy priority for domestic supply would not entail sabotage of the regional fuel grid.

The grid which sucks up gas from the Niger Delta doe use in West African countries to aid rapid industrial and economic development of the region was initially conceived as the sole industrial livewire linking the economies of the countries it would traverse.

The conceived market monopoly was also perceived as the key guarantee of financial returns on projects partners and resource owner.

However, a combination of gas policy changes in Nigeria and commercial oil and gas discovery in Ghana have thrown up serious challenges in recovering the huge funds pumped into the project as the operators of the pipeline face acute gas supply cuts following rising demands in the Nigerian electric power and industrial sectors.

Potential stiff competition is also facing the pipeline company as Ghana which was envisaged to be the key market for the pipe borne gas is now building own gas plants to meet internal needs.

Director of Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Mr. Billy Agha, said the focus of the Nigerian gas policy on domestic supply would not jeopardize supply commitments to the West African conduit.

He however said government was constrained to shut off the regional pipeline from meager output in the period of security tension in the Niger Delta. He explained however that government would honor supply commitments to the export grid in proportion to its relevance to the nation's overall economic agenda.

Managing Director of West African Gas Company (WAPCO), Mr. Jack Derickson, gad said the company was waiting for adequate volume of supplies to fully stream the supply facility, adding that gas development in Ghana was no serious threat.

He said the regional network would continue to other countries if enough gas was available for delivery.

Minister of Petroleum Resources, Dr. Rilwanu Lukman, had declared a gas policy shift would not emphasize domestic supply satisfaction without ruling out export opportunities.

He said the country has enough gas to satisfy domestic supplies and all liquefied natural gas and export pipeline demands, counting on the hope that the security crisis and policies that hindered activities in the industry has been addressed by the amnesty package.

Dr. Lukman also said the new government policy to devote up to 30 percent of the country's gas production to the domestic market will not affect current or LNG projects, despite concerns voiced by investing companies, such as BG Group.

"What we have decided as a matter of policy is that a pre-determined percentage of the gas produced is going to be dedicated to local usage, and that does not in any way inhibit the continued work of the LNG projects," Lukman told Upstream on the sides of the Oil & Money conference in London this week.

"We have a lot of gas. The gas we are handling now is all associated gas. We haven't even talked about looking for primary gas. How can anybody say we don't have enough gas? We have enough gas potentially but we need to develop it."

A recent ceasefire in the Niger delta has raised hopes that Nigerian production can return to normal. Asked if the fragile peace would continue, Lukman said: "We have to make it last. I hope they do not resume hostilities.

"I am confident the peace process is in a good way and that it will hold."

Lukman said that the re-start of Shell's Soku gas processing plant would "of course" increase deliveries to the Nigeria LNG facility.

He said he expected full production at Nigeria LNG - where Shell, Total and Eni are partners with Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation - to resume as "soon as possible".

On the delayed Brass LNG scheme, Lukman said the project is still a "long way away".

"There is a lot of work to do. We are still in the planning stage. We are putting infrastructure in place to supply gas to Brass LNG, OK LNG and of course to feed the new trains at Nigeria LNG."

Nigeria's Senate is working to finalise controversial legislation to overhaul Africa's biggest oil and gas sector.