Italian multinational oil and gas company ENI revealed it has made a “significant” gas and condensate discovery, through its affiliate Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC), in the deeper sequences of the Obiafu-Obrikom fields’ onshore Niger delta, a development which have huge implication on Nigeria’s economy.
This discovery is expected to boost the Federal Government’s aspiration to grow the country’s oil reserves to 40 billion barrels and daily production to 4 million barrels per day.
ENI noted that the well can deliver in excess of 100 million standard cubic feet of gas per day and 3,000 barrels of associated condensates per day. It will immediately be put on-stream to increase NAOC’s gas production, Eni confirmed.
The new find by ENI will increase Nigeria’s gas reserves to 203 trillion cubic feet, increasing the stride of the West African nation as the largest gas reserves in Africa.
According to Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Nigeria has around 202 Tcf of proven gas reserves, a number that was increased from around 187 Tcf late last year — plus about 600 Tcf of unproven gas reserves.
Gas has an important role as a key enabler to the diversification and growth of Nigeria’s broader economy through adequate power generation, provision of feedstock for value-adding manufacturing, and increased government revenue from LNG.
A swing to gas-fueled power generation would represent significant savings opportunities over sources such as diesel which is multiple times more expensive than gas at the current price of $2.28 as at 30 August. This saving can then be redeployed by power consumers (individuals and businesses) to other goods & services and to new investments.
Also, additional opportunity exists in leveraging gas to develop industries that use gas as feedstock, to produce methanol and ammonia used in fertilizer production. Trinidad and Tobago is a good example of a country that has accomplished much with its gas resources. With a small population of 1.4 million and only 11 TCF of proven gas reserves, the country has developed a globally competitive petrochemicals industry. Nigeria, with significantly larger gas reserves, has the potential to achieve even bigger success.
Other areas where gas can benefit the economy include alternative fuel for transportation, residential and commercial utilization etc.
