NUPRC: Nigeria’s Oil Reserves Fell by 0.22%, Gas Pool Rose 0.10% in 2022

*Says upstream investment declined 74% in eight years 

*Establishes energy transition & carbon monetisation unit

* NMDPRA, OPTS pledge to grow Nigeria’s gas sector

Emmanuel Addeh and Peter Uzoho in Abuja

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) yesterday reported a marginal decline in Nigeria’s oil and condensates reserves between January 1, 2022 and January 1, 2023 by a volume of 0.22 per cent.
The development, the commission announced, has now reduced the country’s total oil and condensates stock to 36.966 billion barrels, even though Nigeria retains its position as Africa’s number two country with the hugest oil reserve and highest producer of the commodity on the continent.

Speaking on the last day of the 6th Nigeria International Energy Summit (NIES) in Abuja, organised by Brevity Anderson, the NUPRC Chief Executive, Mr. Gbenga Komolafe, stated however, that the commission’s efforts had begun to manifest in the gas sector, with the increase of gas reserves to 208.83 Trillion Cubic Feet (TCF).

“Our efforts are beginning to manifest in our gas reserves position, and we expect similar manifestation in oil reserves in the very short term. It is, therefore, my pleasure to declare the national hydrocarbon reserves position as at January 1, 2023 at this important forum.
“Nigeria’s oil and condensate reserves as at January 1, 2023 stands at 31.060 billion barrels for oil and 5.906 billion barrels for condensate, making a total of 36.966 billion barrels for oil and condensate while the associated gas reserves is 102.32 trillion cubic feet, non-associated gas reserves is 106.51 trillion cubic feet, making the total of 208.83 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves.
“The oil and condensate reserves decline of about 0.22 per cent compared to January 01, 2022, figures is attributable to low exploration activities and reserves revision arising from subsurface studies in year 2022.

“On the other hand, the slight increase of 0.10 per cent in gas reserves over January 1, 2022 reserves position is primarily attributed to the revisions arising from additional information from new wells, and field development studies,” the NUPRC chief executive said.
His keynote address was titled: “Pivoting Upstream Petroleum Regulations & Investments”, while the NIES event was themed: “Global Perspectives for a Sustainable Energy Future”.

Although crude oil contributes over 85 per cent to Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings, its contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), he said, is about 6.33 per cent, while Algeria’s is 10.2 per cent, Angola’s is 30 per cent and Libya is at over 50 per cent.
But aside the catalogued hydrocarbon potential, Komolafe stated that Nigeria was blessed with potential for blue energy, solar, wind, biomass as well as other sources of renewable energy to leverage for right energy mix in the energy transition regime.

In the years preceding the enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), he pointed out that investments in the Nigerian oil and gas industry declined due to regulatory uncertainty in addition to de-funding of fossil fuel development occasioned by energy transition and COVID-19.
“Most of the International Oil Companies (IOCs) deprioritised Nigeria in their portfolios leading to the redirection of capex to other countries and the attendant dwindling investment in Nigeria’s upstream sector.

“For instance, the Nigeria’s total annual upstream capital expenditure decreased by 74 per cent from $27 billion in the year 2014 to less than $6 billion in 2022. More so, increasing competition from regional peers has led to decrease in the proportion of the overall upstream investment attracted by Nigeria,” he said.
According to him, the under-investment was also reflected in the country’s rig count whereas on the average, Nigeria had 17 active oil rigs in 2019 representing one of the highest counts on the African continent as at then.
But he stated that Nigeria’s average rig count declined to 11 in 2020, seven in 2021, 10 in 2022, but had recently begun to grow, a positive signal of new investments trickling into the country.

“This is also a reflection of investors’ acceptance of effective implementation of the PIA by the regulator,” he added.
Komolafe posited that following two years of high energy prices, the global oil & gas industry is experiencing a boom that could be directed to capital investment in upstream, with the projected outlook over the next few years seen as positive.

On new energy sources, he stated that from 2021 to 2022, the annual global investments in clean energy sources and technology specifically relevant to the energy transition increased by 31 per cent representing the largest annual investment increase since 2010.
“Governments are supporting major R&D and demonstration projects in key areas such as low emission hydrogen-based energy, lithium-ion and lithium-free batteries for electric vehicles, CCUS and other critical energy technologies.  For instance, Egypt plans to invest more than $7 billion in hydrogen projects,” he added.

With a total of over 620 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves, he noted that Africa is poised to develop cleaner fossil fuel to offset the deficits in the world energy supply but requires the right legislative framework.
“Accordingly, the commission has risen to the occasion by establishing a new department of Energy Transition & Carbon Monetisation, saddled with the regulation of the oil and gas carbon market,” he pointed out.
Within 20 months of its existence, he said that the commission successfully gazetted five regulations, developed  13 fresh ones while six are at consultative stages with industry stakeholders.

Also speaking, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) Chief Executive, Farouk Ahmed, represented by the Executive Director, Distribution Systems, Storage & Retailing Infrastructure, Ogbugo Ukoha, stated that the agency has been emboldened by the clear provisions of the PIA to promote investment environments in Nigeria.
He added that the NMDPRA was also strengthening the domestic gas markets for enhanced performance through emplacement of new regulatory regimes for wholesale gas supply and domestic gas market aggregation.

Chairman of the Oil Producers Trade Section (OPTS) of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) who doubles as Managing Director of Chevron, Nigeria, Rick Kennedy, in his remarks, stated that investment and funding remain major issues in the sector.
He explained that it was crucial that Africa unlocks its potential to meet the continent’s energy needs as well as to take advantage of global energy supply opportunities.

“To unlock this potential, investment and funding are needed to be secured for oil and gas projects in Africa,” he noted.
He listed other challenges as cost and carbon competitiveness of the African oil and gas industry, stressing that it was important to maintain focus on delivering cost effective means for Nigeria to sustainably harness its abundant oil and gas resources.
Kennedy also highlighted the role of technology and innovation, which he said remain key differentiators for competitiveness and business growth in the energy sector.