Nigeria has gas reserves that could last the next 79 years, according to data from the country’s Department of Petroleum resources (DPR)
The West African nation has 5.3 trillion cu/m of gas reserves as of 1 January 2015, ranking first in Africa and seventh globally in terms of having a gas reserve base.
Nigeria’s deputy director for gas monitoring and regulation Antigha Ekaluo said that natural gas potential exists in inland basins such as the Benue Trough, Borno and Anambra basins. However, natural gas accumulation is mainly concentrated in the Niger Delta Basin.
Ekaluo presented a paper titled Harnessing and monetising the potential of stranded gas fields: A key enabler for economic and national growth at a meeting, where he mentioned the importance of measuring Reserve Life Index (RLI) – used to measure how long a well or mine would last for oil, natural gas and minerals. Ideally, higher the RLI, higher the asset quality.
He said that Nigeria’s gas reserves endowment might be up to 600 tcf, quoting the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
On the other hand, there is a lot of gas in the country that hasn’t been explored yet. The DPR has called these reserves as “stranded” for they have not been developed to date. Stranded gas could also indicate reserves in remote locations, considered uneconomic for monetisation.
With so much natural gas to harness, Ekaluo suggested that legal and regulatory frameworks be amended to support the country’s gas sector, which is a high growth sector.
