Nigeria’s natural gas reserves rise to 206.53 TCF

Nigeria’s natural gas reserves now stand at 206.53 Trillion Cubic Feet (TCF), from 203TCF, a development showing that the country’s declaration of the gas decade is on course.

Sarki Auwalu, managing director and CEO of the Department of Petroleum Resources, made the declaration in a presentation at Nigerian International Petroleum Summit on June 10.

Of this figure, associated gas, which means for gas discovered while drilling for oil, stands at 100.73 TCF while non-associated gas reserves now stand at 105.80 TCF

Auwalu praised independent field operators who he said had played a critical role in developing the reserves.

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The participation of Independents in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry has been growing even as International Oil Companies retreat due to a difficult operating environment marked by insecurity and endless agitations by communities where oil is explored.

However, indigenous producers have proven to be better at managing community agitations and navigating the challenge of limited funding by collaboration and sharing resources.

Now, they are making a difference. For example, Shoreline Natural Resources Ltd, an independent producer, alone contributed to 2.5 TCF of this proven gas reserve.

Nigeria attained the target of 200 TCF of 2P Reserves by the Reserve Declaration as of January 1, 2019, before the 2020 target year.

“As a department, we have continued to drive industry performance to grow reserves via dedicated gas exploration, deep drilling, optimal appraisal, field studies, and improved oil recovery,” he said.

The government has now set a new target to attain a Reserve Position of 220 TCF by 2030.