Nigeria Can Increase Oil Reserves to 40bn Barrels
Chief Executive of Brevity Anderson, organisers of the yearly Nigeria Petroleum International Summit (NIPS), James Shindi, has said Nigeria has the capacity to upscale its proven oil reserves to 40 billion barrels within the next few years.
Speaking ahead of the forthcoming NIPS 2019 conference and exhibition scheduled to start from January 27; Shindi said with Nigeria’s condensates production, averaging over two million barrels, it would continue to remain attractive for a long time.
“Even if there are no new oil finds, you are looking at another roughly 45 years or so of supply at current rates. However, when you start to look at the huge gas reserves of well over five trillion m³, which ranks Nigeria as possessing Africa’s largest gas reserves, this surely has to be the investment destination of choice and will continue to be,” Shindi noted.
With the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu announcing a roadmap to attract an additional $10 billion worth of new investment into Nigeria alone, Shindi said the continent is witnessing a shift from just talk to tangible action.
Speaking on why the Federal Executive Council (FEC) took the decision to approve the yearly NIPS where the private sector operator create an international platform for high-level discussions around the hydrocarbons sector, he noted that Africa would be able to provide solutions to current and future challenges in the sector.
“It is one of the ways Nigeria continues to provide leadership in the sector on the continent. The event, being the property of the Federal Government, also means that all key government decision makers attend; to network, provide answers to burning questions and also, listen to feedback from stakeholders.
“With a focus on technology and innovation, the aim is to grow the event into a must attend meeting for unveiling of major technological breakthroughs. We are already starting to see this happen, and we at Brevity Anderson feel absolutely humbled, and at the same time delighted to be on this journey with the Federal Government.
Noting that this second edition would address issues around oil market stability, he said: “When you speak to both producers and consumers, you soon get the sense that price volatility hurts both sides.
This sort of market instability means that investment decisions are either delayed or in some instances scrapped all together.
“Since 2014, we have been seeing more and more producers turning exclusively to short-cycle projects, the long-term effect of this will definitely have an impact beyond just oil markets. Within the context of OPEC and APPO, Nigeria continues to play a leading role in driving talks to help stabilise the market.”
He said delegations from the United States, Russian Federation, Norway, Iran, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, South Africa, India, and China already indicated interest in the event.
“Amongst other international delegates, the Norwegian State Secretary (Deputy Minister) for International Development Jens Frølich Holte, also confirmed his participation at the NIPS 2019.
“The next edition of NIPS comes up between January 27th and 30th, 2019. There will be a Ministerial Session, an Executive Round Table, a session on OPEC, Energy Revolution, Offshore & Marine Session amongst other interesting sessions,” Shindi said.
On the expected speaker at the event, he noted that about 100 top-level speakers from both Nigeria and abroad would be at the event, adding that attendance have been confirmed from over 45 countries with more being expected.
He said the group has received support from OPEC regarding the event, disclosing the cartel was at the maiden edition and would be attending the 2019 edition with an official delegation, along with other key stakeholders.
