Report: Nigeria, Others to Fuel Asia’s Growth with New Oil, Gas Projects

Nigeria and other African nations are becoming a major investment magnet as new discoveries position the continent as a guarantor of energy security to emerging Asian nations, a report by the Journal of Petroleum Technology (JPT) has indicated.

Quoting secondary sources, it stated that Africa accounted for 8.8 per cent of the world’s oil production in 2019, while Nigeria was Africa’s top oil producer at 2.2 per cent; Algeria was next at 1.6 per cent; then Angola, 1.5 per cent while Libya’s production was 1.3 per cent.

The report released recently, indicated that Africa contributed 6 per cent to the world’s natural gas production in 2019, with Algeria ranking as the continent’s top gas producer at a global share of 2.2 per cent followed by Egypt, 1.6 per cent, and Nigeria, 1.2 per cent.

“Keen to add to its reserve base, Nigeria is preparing a new Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), and the government has provisionally awarded tenders to develop 57 marginal oil fields, with $500 million in signature bonuses at stake.

“Nigeria is targeting marginal fields for the first time in 20 years as the country looks not only to boost its revenues but also to raise local participation in the oil sector from indigenous companies, which typically work these marginal fields.

“Involving more local participation to produce Nigeria’s oil riches may also help to tamp down the sabotage, theft, and security issues that Shell blames for the drop in its Nigerian production from 266,000 BOED in 2019 to 223,000 in 2020, according to its annual report,” the report stressed.

It stated that while Shell is scaling down its Nigerian oil assets, but it still continues to focus on gas and deep water, adding that in May 2020, Shell Gas declared it had reached a final investment decision to add a seventh train to Nigeria’s Bonny Island facility, adding 8 mtpa of future liquefied natural gas (LNG) capacity.

In Angola, it stated that Last month, Angola’s National Oil, Gas, and Biofuel’s Agency kicked off a series of digital and in-person roadshows and technical presentations to promote blocks offered in the country’s 2020 ongoing bid round.

To attract investors, the report stated that Nigeria and Angola are having to navigate not only the pandemic’s effect on financial markets, but also stiff competition from frontier regions such as Guyana and Suriname which share West Africa’s fertile geology and are capturing current headlines.

Besides upping its investment in Nigeria LNG, it noted that Shell is also playing a role in the re-emergence of Egypt as a regional LNG supplier in the eastern Mediterranean.

“The supermajor operates Egypt’s Idku LNG plant which shipped seven cargos in January and 17 in Q4 2020 to buyers in China, India, and Turkey, according to S&P Global.

“BP’s statistical review ranks Nigeria as Africa’s leading LNG producer at 28.8 Bcm in 2019; Algeria follows at 16.6 Bcm; Angola, 5.8 Bcm; and Egypt at 4.5 Bcm.