Nigeria retains position in oil, gas reserves global index

Abiola Seun   |  


Nigeria has retained its occupancy of the 10th and 9th positions in the global oil and gas reserves respectively.

President Muhammadu Buhari made the remark as Special Guest of Honour at the sixth Triennial National Delegates Conference of PENGASSEN held in Abuja.

Buhari also showered commendations on Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) for helping Nigeria attain a pride of place among the comity of oil and gas producing Nations.

The President noted that the oil and gas industry is an enabler of national development and it is critical to the nine strategic priorities of the government which include stimulating growth, creating well-paying jobs and taking millions of Nigerians out of poverty. 

The President, who was represented by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, explained that the Ministry of Petroleum Resources is paying special attention to gas by declaring the year 2020 as the ‘Year of Gas’.

The President disclosed that the efforts to fix our refineries is being given top priority while the private sector is also complimenting that effort by investing in major refineries such as the Dangote 650,000bpd capacity and other modular refineries that are springing up.

The President concluded by saying that the Covid-19 pandemic and its impact on the Nigerian and global economy has made it imperative to pursue other sources of revenue other than oil.

Nigeria holds about 37 billion barrels of proven oil reserves as of 2019, ranking 10th in the world and accounting for about 2.2% of the world’s total oil reserves of 2 trillion barrels.

The country also had an estimated 200.4 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of proved natural gas reserves by the end of 2019 and has the largest natural gas reserves in Africa.