The Nigerian Government disclosed that it is currently planning to grow Nigeria’s gas reserve from 206 trillion cubic feet to 600 trillion cubic feet (TCF).
This was disclosed by the Minister of State for Petroleum, Chief Timipre Sylva, at the 23rd World Petroleum Congress in Houston, Texas, USA, reported by NAN.
Speaking at a session themed, “Regional Development and Opportunities in Africa,” he revealed that the increase would position Nigeria among the countries with the highest gas reserves in the world.
The Minister stated the 600 trillion cubic feet reserve will enable Nigeria to achieve the desired development required of a gas nation.
“We have a lot of gas in Nigeria. We currently have 206 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves.
“This number is already discovered in gas reserves and the 206 trillion cubic feet reserve were discovered while looking for oil; so it was accidentally discovered.
“We were actually going to look for crude oil and we found gas, and in that process of the accidental discovery of gas, we have found about 206 TCF.
“So, the belief is that if we really aim to look for gas dedicatedly, we will find up to 600 trillion cubic feet of gas,” he said.
Sylva added that the future of the oil and gas industry in Nigeria is still very bright when we talk about energy transition, as the FG does not expect that oil will be discarded the next day.
He said over the years, oil will account for less and less percentage in the global energy mix, which means that oil is still going to be relevant but it will not be as relevant as it is today.
“It’s going to happen in years to come, so there is still a lot of opportunities in growing the oil industry.
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“That’s why we are here to collaborate with the rest of the global community to develop the oil industry.
“We’ve never discountenanced that the world is serious about energy transition.”
He also added that Nigeria has declared gas as its transition fuel, and pathway to net-zero carbon emissions which presents investment opportunities given the oil and gas reserves which can be commercialized.
“Forty-three per cent of Nigerians are unconnected to off-grid electricity. So, we have a challenge and we have to commit to energy security as well, and also the cost on us from the global community to ensure energy security for our people. So, for us, it is a balancing act.
“We need to commit to energy security for the citizens. It is a balancing act, we need to achieve energy security for Nigerians and also be of course on net-zero,” he said.
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