The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has said If new crude oil discoveries are not made to add to Nigeria’s current reserves of 37 billion barrels (bbls), the country will run out of oil in about 49 years.
According to the data from the regulator, the reserves which stood at 37.45 billion barrels in 2014, fell to 37.06 billion barrels in 2015 and 36.74 billion barrels in 2016. It, however, rose to 36.97 billion barrels in 2017 and 37 billion barrels in 2018.
The DPR also explained that the current depletion rate of Nigeria’s oil reserves is 2.04%, adding that the life index stood at 49.03 years.
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“The life index is a measure of the reserves as of January 1, 2019, divided by the total production in 2018. This parameter highlights how long (in years) quoted reserves volumes will be available for production.”
In achieving the government’s aspiration to produce 4 million barrels per day and reserves of 40 million barrels, the DPR said “there is a need for a corresponding increase in reserves as production increases.”
“The life index will fall from a sustainable long-term threshold to a less futuristic and sustainable medium to short-term range.”
Meanwhile the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva had noted that the oil sector was in an uncertain fiscal environment which is a deterrent on the investments required to ramp up oil production and increase reserves.
“If there is a lot of exploration, we believe that a lot of oil still remains to be found in Nigeria. And that is the beauty of Nigeria. Nigeria is not yet a mature territory; it is still very prolific.”
“There has been no targeted exploration for gas and yet we have 200 Tcf reserves. So, we believe that if we really go out looking for gas, we can find a lot more that will put us in the league of the most prolific in the world.
“Let us allow the investment to come into Nigeria, because there is still a lot of oil and gas to be found. Unfortunately, the bad news is that the world’s 2020 outlook tells you that by 2040, oil and gas will account for only 50% of the energy of the world.”