The group managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru has called investors, both local and foreign, to key to over $48 billion investment opportunities available in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.
Baru made the call while speaking at a Panel Session on the topic “Insights on Future Exploration Hotspots: Opportunities for Africa’s Oil & Gas Industry” under the sub-theme “The New Frontier for Africa’s Oil & Gas” at the 2019 annual International Petroleum Week conference which began in London, Wednesday.
He said several new frontiers for exploration opportunities abound in Nigeria, noting that offshore discoveries in the country had mostly been limited to between 1,000 – 1,500 meters of water depth.
He said the NNPC’s Frontier Exploration Service was currently drilling the Kolmani River-2 Well where desktop estimates revealed that about 400Bcf of gas is expected to be encountered.
“Beyond these water depths, the new frontiers of ultra-deep waters need to be tested. And that is where we need the investors,” he added.
He explained that over 41 billion barrels of oil and 319trillion cubic feet of gas were yet to be discovered in sub-Saharan Africa alone, while between 2008 and 2017, exploratory success in the sub-region was at least 45 per cent.
Acording to him, there has been a surge in the capital expenditure (CAPEX) across Africa’s Oil and Gas Sector, with close to $194billion earmarked to be spent between 2018 and 2025 on 93 upcoming oil and gas fields in Africa.
“Out of this $194billion, Nigeria accounts for $48.04 billion (over 24.8 per cent) of the total CAPEX coming into upcoming projects in Africa over 2018 to 2025, with over 20 planned projects,” Baru stated.
He observed that 23.8 per cent of the CAPEX in Africa would be spent in Mozambique, 11.3% in Angola while about 29.2 per cent would be spent in Tanzania, Senegal, Mauritania, Uganda, Egypt, Algeria and Kenya combined.
Baru informed that with over 14 oil producing countries, Africa currently accounts for 7.5 per cent (126.5Billion barrels of crude oil) and 7.1 per cent (488 Tcf of gas) of global proven oil and gas reserves respectively.
He maintained that in terms of production, the continent accounted for 8.7 per cent (8.1Million barrels per day) of global oil production and 6.1 per cent (21.8bscfd) of global gas production, even as it consumed 4Million barrels of oil per day and 13.7bscfd of gas (equivalent to 4.1 per cent and 3.9 per cent of global oil and consumption respectively).
Shedding more light on investment opportunities in Nigeria, Dr. Baru observed that the NNPC’s Frontier Exploration Service was currently drilling the Kolmani River-2 Well where desktop estimates revealed that about 400Bcf of gas is expected to be encountered.
However, Baru stated that unless issues related to legal and regulatory uncertainties, lack of infrastructure, skilled manpower shortage, transparency and accountability were addressed among key stakeholders, Africa’s oil and gas industry may not achieve its full potential.
