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Domestic Gas Utilization and Economic Wellbeing in Nigeria

Chidi, Uwuma, Cookey, Ibeinmo Friday Ewubare, Dennis Brown

Abstract

This study empirically examines the effect of domestic gas utilization on economic wellbeing, proxied by per capita income, in Nigeria from 1990 to 2024. Domestic gas utilization was disaggregated into gas consumption per capita, industrial gas consumption growth rate, and share of gas in total energy consumption. Annual time series data were sourced mainly from the National Bureau of Statistics report, International Energy Agency report, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Annual Statistical Bulletins, and World Development Indicators of the World Bank, and the Autoregressive Distributed Lag technique was adopted as the major data analysis technique. The results of the study showed that gas consumption per capita, industrial gas consumption growth rate, and share of gas in total energy consumption all have positive and statistically significant effects on per capita income in Nigeria in both the short run and the long run. Based on the findings, the study concluded that domestic gas utilization plays a vital role in promoting economic wellbeing, particularly income growth, in Nigeria. It was recommended, among others, that government should intensify policies that promote increased domestic gas consumption by expanding gas infrastructure, improving gas distribution networks, and encouraging household and industrial access to affordable gas energy, since expanding gas accessibility will enhance productive activities, stimulate business growth, and improve household welfare across the Nigerian economy.

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