Nigeria and Germany have agreed on a deal for Africa's largest oil producer to supply more gas to Germany while Berlin will also invest $500 million in renewable energy projects, Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu said on Tuesday.

In a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by Nigeria's Riverside LNG project, which works in the country's Niger Delta, and Germany's Johannes Schuetze Energy Import, Nigeria will export 850,000 tons of liquified natural gas (LNG) per year to Germany, increasing in the future to 1.2 million tons.

The first deliveries, which will represent 2% of Germany's total LNG imports, are expected to leave Nigeria in 2026.

"This is a further step towards diversifying German gas imports," said Johannes Schuetze, chairman of the German gas importer, of the historic first ever gas deal between Africa's most populous country and Europe's biggest gas consumer, signed at the G20 Compact with Africa conference in Berlin.

In return, a second MOU was signed in which Germany committed a further $500 million of investment into renewable energy and technology projects in Nigeria, aiming especially at bringing more people into the formal economy.

Germany is also discussing an agreement with electronics giant Siemens to help with Nigeria's electric power supply, which is unstable and a major burden for Nigerians and businesses.

Since he came to office in May, President Tinubu has been working to attract foreign investors to Nigeira, Africa's largest economy, pointing to his reforms on fuel subsidies and currency controls as incentives.

He has also expressed interest in Siemens helping modernize and expand Nigeria's railway network.

mf/jcg (Reuters, AFP)