As of 2011, Nigeria’s proven oil reserves stood at 37.2 billion barrels, putting the country as the biggest oil producer in Africa and 11th largest in the world. Rather than hit the 40 billion barrels of crude oil reserves target set by Federal Government in 2010, the country’s reserves declined to 31.27 barrels by 2016 according to data from the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR).
For Nigeria’s gas resource, Maikanti Baru, Group Managing Director of NNPC, during the recent Nigerian Gas Association (NGA) international conference in Abuja said the country’s current proven gas reserve has gone up to 202 trillion cubic feet (tcf) from the initial figure of 199tcf. Meanwhile, there is still the issue of the unproven gas reserves of about 600tcf.
The gross underutilisation of Nigeria’s gas resource and the decline in the country’s oil reserves can be traced to regulatory uncertainty, low investment in exploration and absence of licensing bid round.
Despite the lack of momentum over the years, Nigeria remained number one in Africa. However, if the country remains static, all that may change in coming years as South Africa just got on front foot.
The Brulpadda find, estimated at about 1 billion barrels, may prompt a rush of activity offshore and help open up a new hydrocarbons province in South Africa.
“It is gas condensate and light oil. Mainly gas. There are four other prospects on the licence that we have to drill; it could be around 1 billion barrels of total resources of gas and condensate,” said Patrick Pouyanne, Total Chief Executive.
The discovery by French oil major Total SA, speaks to South Africa’s hidden oil and gas potential. The field was discovered about 175 kilometers off the country’s southern coast in the Outeniqua Basin.
“The find is potentially a major boost for the economy. We welcome it as we continue to seek investment,” Gwede Mantashe, South Africa’s Minerals Minister said.
Kevin McLachlan, Total’s senior vice president for exploration, said in a statement said that “with the discovery, Total has opened a new world-class gas and oil play and is well positioned to test several follow-on prospects on the same block,”
Brulpadda is one of several high-profile exploration prospects for Total and it is projected that the field could hold between 500 million to more than 1 billion barrels of oil equivalent.
“We believe South Africa holds the potential for many more such discoveries, and the time has come to have a meaningful conversation on local content development so the development of the industry benefits all South African workers and contractors across the value-chain and creates jobs for the communities,” said NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman African Energy Chamber (AEC).
FRANK UZUEGBUNAM
