Deal on the table: Nigeria President Umaru Yar Adua
Russia and Nigeria close to gas deal
Russia and Nigeria are expected to sign a series of deals including a joint venture agreement on gas exploration with Gazprom and a nuclear energy pact during the Russian president's visit to Nigeria tomorrow.
Nigerian presidency spokesman Segun Adeniyi said four memoranda of understanding would be signed during the visit, including what he described as the biggest gas deal the African country has signed with a foreign partner.
Gazprom said in February it was close to sealing a $2.5 billion oil and gas exploration deal that would create a 50/50 joint venture with the state-run Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), a Reuters report said.
"A number of intergovernmental agreements are expected to be signed after the talks in Abuja, including a document on the founding of a joint venture between Gazprom and Nigeria's NNPC," a senior Kremlin official, who asked not to be named, told the news agency.
An NNPC official also confirmed the planned signing, but declined to provide details.
Nigeria has the world's seventh-largest proven gas reserves and the Gazprom deal could strengthen Russia's position as a supplier of natural gas to North America and Europe.
Adeniyi said other deals to be signed included an agreement on nuclear energy development and on investment promotion between the two nations.
A senior Gazprom source told Reuters in February that 90% of the $2.5 billion investment in Nigeria would go towards developing the country's domestic gas production, processing and transportation.