By Michael Eboh

ABUJA—The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, yesterday, painted a gloomy outlook for Nigeria’s economic fortunes, as it disclosed that the country’s crude oil and gas reserves were fast depleting.

The NNPC in a statement in Abuja, therefore, begged oil and gas exploration companies, professionals and other stakeholders to focus on increasing the nation’s oil and gas reserve base to match national aspirations to increase oil production.

Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Mr. Maikanti Baru, who disclosed this when the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists, NAPE, hosted him in Abuja, also expressed readiness of the NNPC to partner with stakeholders in the oil and gas industry to grow the nation’s fast depleting reserves in order to increase productivity in the petroleum sector.

He said: “Our national gas demand forecast to year 2020, domestic plus export, indicates a rapid growth to 15 billion Standard Cubic Feet per day (bscfd), meaning current reserves level can only sustain that production for 35 years, if we do not increase the 2bscfd gas reserves base which require three trillion cubic feet (tcf) to replace production yearly.”

It was also revealed that the country’s drive for industrialization risks being truncated, as Baru stated that the country’s aspirations were to increase oil production to four million barrels per day and meet gas demand of 15 billion standard cubic feet per day, bscfd, by 2020, required for industrialization and consumption.

He further lamented that less than three per cent of all oil wells drilled in the Niger Delta Basin, both onshore and swamp, were deeper than 15,000 feet, adding that a greater number of these wells had not gone beyond the 10,000 feet as a high pressure regime seemed to be a limiting factor.

However, he stated that “some of our earlier drilled non-commercial holes could be turned around if we deploy requisite technologies; we need to change our perspective of risk as technology is advancing.”

Baru further explained that the 2016 national average oil production of 1.9 million barrels was low, partly due to oil infrastructure vandalism.

He stressed the need for stakeholders to share data and use common available resources to reduce cost of operations in the area of rig-sharing, vessel sharing and synergy in projects development, adding that this had become even expedient in this era of low oil prices and security challenges.

On frontier exploration, Baru said the NNPC was progressing in exploration efforts in the Chad Basin, the Benue trough and other frontier basins to shore up the reserve base of the country.

In his own presentation, NAPE President, Mr. Nosa Omorodion, said the association was ready to support NNPC in its drive to grow reserves towards increased production in all the frontier basins.

lalasticlala

sarrki:
Then the diversification should be hastened

BeeBeeOoh:
Like pumping in more money for oil exploration in the chad basin right??

mrvitalis:

Like pumping more money to increase our water boundaries in the south

BeeBeeOoh:
Happy Recession

BeeBeeOoh:
Like pumping in more money for oil exploration in the chad basin right??

mrvitalis:

U likes just have bad perception about this government and wont dee anything good in County

Is there a prospect of oil in the places being drilled..?? Yhe ans is yes.. So why should we leave our resources

What will be bad if we produce 10 million barrels per day and it still only country 20% of our earnings as a country

U really don't know what diversification is and how it works

U likes just have bad perception about this government and wont dee anything good in County

koladebrainiac:
OK its good news

Boleyndynasty2:
that's the only Diversification the Daura president knows. Not just chad basin, even Benue state . Good morning sir

TPAND:
What is even the rig count here in Nigeria.
It is quite sad most operators chickened out of Exploration and drilling new oil wells because of the glut that led to the fall in crude oil prices.

Other countries are seizing the opportunity of getting fair and competitive prices at a time like this. Oil exploration activity in Nigeria has almost hit a ground zero.Cost per barrel ls very low compared to the last 4years. Banks have refused to invest in oil and gas activities, neither are they given loans to Indepedent oil companies to prospect for oil and gas. If we don't do something fast, our production will hit 1.6million barrels by December

BeeBeeOoh:
We are talking about making Nigeria non oil dependent country, but u still cheer this administration for wasting money they would have channelled into agriculture making it an enabling environment for farmers. But, what do we get in return, removing the subsidy on fertilizer & handing it over to retired generals. What sort of diversification is that?? Please Stop Being An Enemy Of Nigeria..


Bro, Buhari is the architect of his own problems, he knows the right thing to do but chose to do other wise. So don't try to make other people take the blame..



NB: Patriotism Is Not Cheering Your Country In Regression, It's About Making Them Sit Tight When You Noticed They Are Deviating. But, you & you ilk would rather die than to castigate this government & anybody that criticizes them is automatically a wailer or IPad yoot


Happy Recession Once More

mrvitalis:

What is he suppised to do. .. Please tell me

BeeBeeOoh:
I will come up with mine when he finish paying attention to the advise of the likes of Soludo, SLS, Pat Utomi & the rest. #shalom

Xway:
North korea ''kim'' please mistakenly press the nuke button ....so that it will land gidigba for africa (nigeria) especially............scatter every thing, infact i will urge you to nuke level some places, so that this useless country will start affrresh.

Islie:









http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/10/recession-nigerias-oil-gas-reserves-running-nnpc-warns/