NMDPRA: Nigeria’s Gas Reserves Now 209.5tcf, Increases by 2.87tcf

Peter Uzoho

The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has revealed that Nigeria’s proven natural gas reserves have risen to 209.5 trillion cubic feet (tcf) as of January 1, 2022.

Chief Executive Officer of NMDPRA, Mr. Farouk Ahmed, presented the latest gas reserve standing at the just-concluded 2022 Nigeria International Energy Summit (NIES) in Abuja.

The new figure represents a major increase of 2.97tcf in proven natural gas reserves and 1.42 percentage increase from the 206.53tcf recorded in 2020.

Represented at the session by the Authority’s Executive Director, Distribution Systems, Storage and Retailing Infrastructure, Mr. Ogbugo Ukoha, Ahmed said the Nigerian economy had been projected to experience a growth of 2.1 to 2.5 per cent through 2022.

Ahmed said: “Thankfully, Nigeria is endowed with enormous petroleum resources, currently put at 37 billion barrels of crude oil reserves and 209.5tcf of natural gas reserves as at January 2022. These resource size puts Nigeria at an enviable position within the comity of global hydrocarbon producers.

“Even in this era of global energy transition, the oil and gas sector still remains pivotal to the Nigerian economy since it provides the needed cash flow for the functioning of other sectors of the economy but for how long?”

According to him, with the global push for energy transition, Nigeria is racing against time to derive maximum value from its hydrocarbon resource and secure its energy future.

Ahmed said the authority was committed to creating an enabling environment for investments in the midstream and downstream space by encouraging industry participants through its regulatory service instruments.