Oil production stagnates at 37b barrels in 14 years

• Gas reserves remain at 209.26 TCF, NUPRC confirms
Fourteen years after targeting to improve reserves to about 40 billion barrels, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NERC), has said that the country’s oil reserve remains at 37.5 billion barrels.

In 2010, the most populous black nation moved to increase the reserve to 40 million barrels with a 10-year plan, which elapsed in 2020.

Despite claims by most of the ministers of petroleum and heads of national oil companies that they have been working to meet the target, while also boosting daily output, the reserve has remained within the same region.

NUPRC, in a National Annual Petroleum Reserve Position released yesterday in Abuja, said Nigeria’s oil reserves stand at 31.56 billion barrels and 5.94 billion barrels of condensate, totalling 37.50 billion barrels.

According to the regulator’s statistics, the country’s reserve, which stood at 37.200 billion in 2010, dropped to 36.247 billion in 2011. It was 37.139 billion in 2012 before it went down to 37.071 in 2013. In 2014, it stood at 37.448 billion, and later dropped to 37.062 in 2015 and remained at 37.453 billion in 2016.

Production was 37.45 billion barrels in 2018 and in 2021, it was around 36.89 billion.

Gas reserve has also been in the same region, standing at 209 trillion standard cubic feet. 

The Associated Gas and Non-Associated Gas reserves stand at 102.59 Trillion Cubic Feet (TCF) and 106.67 TCF, resulting in total gas reserves of 209.26 TCF.  

The commission said the reserves’ Life Index is 68.01 years and 97.99 Years for Oil and Gas respectively.

NUPRC stated that there is a gross addition to oil and gas reserves of 1.087 billion barrels and 2.573 trillion cubic feet.