The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has reported that over five trillion standard cubic feet of gas have been produced in Nigeria in the last two years.
A breakdown showed that 2.521 trillion standard cubic feet were produced in 2022, representing a decline when compared with 2.744 trillion standard cubic feet produced in 2021, while in 2023, the gas sector recorded a total production of 2.491 trillion standard cubic feet, representing a one percent drop in gas production when compared with the total production recorded in 2022.
The figures were contained in the latest oil and gas industry independent report released by NEITI in Abuja.
NEITI further disclosed in the report that a five-year trend analysis (2019 – 2023) of gas production in Nigeria showed that the highest production volume of 3.048 trillion SCF was recorded in 2019 and the lowest of 2.491 trillion standard cubic feet was produced in 2023. This represented an 82.73 percent increase in the country’s production capacity last year.
“On gas utilisation, the NEITI report tracked that a total of 137.361 billion standard cubic feet of gas was used as fuel in 2022 from data provided by only 32 gas companies.
On the contribution of the oil and gas industry to employment opportunities. during the period under review, the NEITI findings showed that only 6,728 persons were employed in the sector out of which (83%) were men while only 17 percent were women. The sector also witnessed a steady decline in its contribution to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).
A trend of the contribution of the oil and gas sector to GDP in Nigeria from 7.32 percent to 4.3 percent in 2022 and 5.75 percent to Nigeria’s total GDP of N 202.365 trillion (US$478.06 billion) as of the last year 2023. The report attributed the decline to dwindling oil production due to insecurity, theft, and sabotage.
Read also: Oil & gas sector owes FG $6bn, N66bn-NEITI
Speaking as a special guest while presenting the report in Abuja, Ola Olukoyede, chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, warned all industry players, oil and gas companies and relevant government agencies against non-compliance with the annual NEITI Industry Audit process.
He said that the current NEITI report on the oil and gas sector was with the commission for further necessary action.
He further disclosed that just before the event, he signed off a remittance of recovery of N1 billion to the beneficiary agency of the government courtesy of NEITI report findings.
The chairman commended NEITI for its credible data and promised to deepen cooperation with the agency.
Ikenga Ugochinyere the chairman, of the House of Representatives committee on petroleum downstream, announced that a private member bill to amend the NEITI Act 2007 to align with the current realities sponsored by him has already scaled through the first reading.
He advised all stakeholders in the NEITI process to partner with his committee to amend the NEITI law.
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