Despite over ten years of lack of exploration activities, experts in the oil and gas industry in Nigeria say between 60-100 billion barrels of crude oil can still be realised from onshore Niger Delta basin.
This is notwithstanding that over 65 billion barrels of crude oil has already been produced from the basin so far. The experts, however, said the government must take necessary steps towards realising this objective.
The country currently has about 35 billion in oil reserves, including condensate. But her desire to achieve 40 billion barrels of oil reserve and four million barrels per production in the last 10 years had been elusive.
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The experts suggested that the steps that can be taken include ensuring a peaceful operating atmosphere, a new fiscal regime that encourages the development of small to mid-sized assets/reservoir as well as non –associated gas fields and competitive gas fiscal regime.
The experts who spoke at the ongoing 35th Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE) Annual Conference and Exhibition, said exploration activities in the deepwater have highlighted different depositional environments in the basin, which indicates that the potential there is huge.
Jeff Ewing, managing director of Chevron said Nigeria still has significant opportunities to find new oil and gas resources. “The industry has an opportunity to rejuvenating old frontier basin exploration, to discover impact resource addition for strategic reserves replacement and growth. This could be achieved through Regional Geological Assessment and seismic processing; Deep drilling and prospecting as well as cost Cost-efficient future development.”
Ewing stated that there is significant unpenetrated and undiscovered hydrocarbon resource and reserves just below existing infrastructure.
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According to Ewing boss, he said following the fall in the price of crude prices in 2014, and the resulting recession in the Nigeria economy, it has become imperative that stakeholders evolve ways to manage the situation. He said as an industry, we must challenge our cost structure and eliminate obstacles that directly or indirectly introduce unwanted cost premium in doing business.
Joe Ejedawe, one of the speakers at the event, who was represented by Kenny Ladipo, said that stakeholders in the oil and gas sector should be concept-driven, rather than structural drive to achieve the maximum potential in the basin spoke through
The governor of Lagos state, who was represented by Wale Olowu, Commissioner for Energy, urged the stakeholders to be focused, as the relevant of fossil fuels would still be with the country for a long time to come.
Olusola Bello
