At the centre of this shift is the idea that methanol can act as a catalytic industry, supporting manufacturing clusters, reducing import dependence, and expanding the continent’s chemical capabilities. This aligns with ongoing efforts to transform Africa’s natural resources into higher-value outputs while improving employment prospects, strengthening supply chains, and positioning regional markets for competitive growth.
Olamide Ariyo, Head of Operations and Logistics at Triton Minerals Limited, UAE, stressed that converting gas into methanol offers Nigeria a rare opportunity to build downstream industries, drive local procurement, and seed entire manufacturing value chains, from plastics and solvents to adhesives and chemical intermediates. He argued that with policy support, long-term off-take agreements, and strong environmental oversight, the project could become a cornerstone of Africa’s industrial future.
“Methanol projects are generally regarded as anchor investments. So, this means that they create a strong and dependable demand for local services like construction, chemical industries, logistics, fabrication, etc. […] A lot of these which we import. This consequently attracts related SMEs […] then you're enabling value addition, local procurement and definitely industrial clustering. So, over time I would say this attracts technical training programs in Africa and helps to propagate tooling and service industries, so, and this deepens industrial ecosystems around energy hubs within Africa,” Ariyo explained.
To find out more about the potentials of gas to methanol projects in Nigeria and Africa, tune in to the Global South Pole podcast, brought to you by Sputnik Africa.
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