To deepen offshore investments in the nation’s oil and gas industry, the Federal Government on Wednesday unveiled Nigeria’s $48 billion investment opportunities available in emerging capital projects expected on stream soon.
The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru, while speaking at a panel session on the topic “Insights on Future Exploration Hotspots: Opportunities for Africa’s Oil and Gas Industry” under the sub-theme “The New Frontier for Africa’s Oil & Gas” at the 2019 International Petroleum Week Conference in London, called on potential investors to latch in on the various opportunities within Nigeria.
Reeling out the enormous potential of Africa’s oil and gas industry, the NNPC GMD said the continent’s energy outlook was positive amid difficult operating and economic headwinds.
He explained that over 41 million barrels of oil and 319 trillion cubic feet of gas were yet to be discovered in sub-Saharan Africa alone, while between 2008 and 2017, exploratory success in sub-saharan Africa was at least 45per cent.
According to him, there has been a surge in the capital expenditure (CAPEX), across Africa’s oil and gas sector, with close to $194billion earmarked for spending between 2018 and 2025 on 93 upcoming oil and gas fields in Africa.
“Out of an estimated $194 billion, Nigeria accounts for $48.04 billion (over 24.8%) of the total CAPEX coming into upcoming projects in Africa from 2018 to 2025, with over 20 planned projects,” Baru stated.
He observed that 23.8 per cent of the CAPEX in Africa would be spent in Mozambique, 11.3 per cent in Angola while about 29.2 per cent would be spent in Tanzania, Senegal, Mauritania, Uganda, Egypt, Algeria and Kenya combined.
Baru informed that with over 14 oil producing countries, Africa currently accounts for 7.5 per cent (126.5billion barrels of crude oil) and 7.1 per cent (488 Tcf of gas) of global proven oil and gas reserves respectively.
He maintained that in terms of production, the continent accounted for 8.7 per cent (8.1Million barrels per day) of global oil production and 6.1 per cent (21.8bscfd) of global gas production, even as it consumed 4million barrels of oil per day and 13.7bscfd of gas (equivalent to 4.1 per cent and 3.9 per cent of global oil and consumption respectively).
Highlighting the investment opportunities in Nigeria, Dr. Baru observed that the NNPC’s Frontier Exploration Service was currently drilling the Kolmani River-2 Well where desktop estimates revealed that about 400Bcf of gas is expected to be encountered.
He stressed that several new frontiers for exploration opportunities abound in Nigeria, even as offshore discoveries in the country have mostly been limited to between 1,000 – 1,500m of water depth.
Source: Proshare
