Nigaz should not be confused with Niggaz (disambiguation).
Nigaz is a joint venture between the Russian gas company Gazprom EP International B.V. (100% affiliate of OAO Gazprom) and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.[1] Nigaz was established in 2009.It plans to invest US$2.5 billion to build oil and gas refineries, pipelines and gas power stations in Nigeria. Launching the company, Russian president Dmitry Medvedev announced his intention to form a major energy partnership with Nigeria at a meeting in Abuja with Nigerian president Umaru Yar'Adua.[2]
The company's name, a portmanteau of "Nigeria" and "Gazprom", attracted media attention because of its similarity to the potentially offensive word "nigga", a slang derivative and reclaimed word from "nigger", in African American Vernacular English.[3] [4]