According to the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Nigeria’s proven natural gas reserves have increased to 209.5 trillion cubic feet (TCF) as of January 1, 2022. According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Mr Farouk Ahmed, Chief Executive Officer of the NMDPRA, stated this on Wednesday at the 2022 Nigeria International Energy Summit (NIES) in Abuja.
The new figure represents a significant increase in proven natural gas reserves of 2.97 TCF, representing a 1.42 percentage increase over the 206.53 TCF recorded on January 1, 2021. Mr. Ogbugo Ukoha, Executive Director, Distribution Systems, Storage, and Retailing Infrastructure, NMDPRA, represented Ahmed, who stated that the Nigerian economy was expected to grow by 2.1 to 2.5 percent through 2022.
He predicted that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) would grow by 2.9 to 3.5 percent, as predicted by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, and that this progress would be driven by energy. “Thankfully,” Ahmed said, “Nigeria is endowed with enormous petroleum resources, with 37 billion barrels of crude oil reserves and 209.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves as of January 2022.”
Nigeria’s resource size places it in an enviable position among global hydrocarbon producers. “Even in this era of global energy transition, the oil and gas sector remains critical to the Nigerian economy because it provides the necessary cash flow for the operation of other sectors of the economy, but for how long?”
With the global push for energy transition, Nigeria, he claims, is racing against time to extract the most value from its hydrocarbon resources and secure its energy future. He stated that Nigeria’s energy strategies, which he described as a key tool for economic liberation and national development, must be vigorously considered in light of the shift in demand and clamor for cleaner fuels. “It is critical that going forward, all stakeholders deliberately adopt strategies that embolden and underpin these three core principles,” Ahmed said.
“Adoption of low-carbon technologies across all operations in the oil and gas value chain, deepening and penetration of domestic natural gas utilization to increase energy sufficiency and reduce energy poverty, and prudent investment in cleaner fuels and renewables.” He stated that the authority was dedicated to creating an enabling environment for midstream and downstream investments by encouraging industry participants through its regulatory service instruments.
