Sub-Saharan Africa Yet to Discover 41 Billion Barrels of Crude Oil

OILMONSTER.COM- Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru, has revealed that more than 41 billion barrels of crude oil and 319 trillion standard cubic feet of gas were yet to be discovered in Sub-Saharan Africa. Baru said from available information, the African crude oil and gas outlook remained positive and on the upward trajectory, insisting that the West Africa Sub-Region held all the aces in offshore Deep Water exploration hotspots. Baru spoke last Wednesday during a special session on Africa focusing on “Foundations for New Investment”, at the ongoing 19th CERAWeek Conference in Houston, United States.

But while the Nigerian government has continued to pussyfoot on the fate of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), the Kenyan government has already addressed crude oil revenue-sharing controversy and host community concerns in a new petroleum law signed by its President, Mr. Uhuru Kenyatta, in a sense that made mockery of Nigeria’s attempts to undertake reforms in her oil industry for nearly 19 years.

Throwing light on the future of oil and gas in Africa, Baru stated that a prolific find of 1.0 billion barrels of crude oil was recently made at the Owowo field, offshore Nigeria. While calling on foreign investors to explore the Nigerian Ultra-Deep terrain, which he described as largely untested, Baru told his audience that in Nigeria, NNPC was currently drilling Kolmani River-II Well in the Benue Trough – one of Nigeria’s several frontier inland Basins with about 400 BCF of gas expected to be encountered.

The occasion also provided an opportunity for the NNPC boss to make a case for the domestication of oil and gas technologies within the African continent.

“It is my belief that domesticating these cutting-edge technologies will develop the capacity of our people, improve our economies and emplace our national oil and gas companies on the path of sustainable growth and development,” he stated.

According to him, African countries must react positively to the new reality by deploying new policies and stabilise their business environment to attract meaningful investments. He said critical to achieving that for Nigeria was the passage of the four components of the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB), which is expected to usher in a new legislation that would not only enhance the investment climate in the country, but also change the fortunes of the nation’s oil and gas business for the better.

Baru informed delegates at the conference that the NNPC was opening up its business environment to ensure transparency and accountability in its dealings with all stakeholders. He also lauded the federal government for its peace initiatives in the Niger Delta communities, which he said had seen the country hitting very high oil and gas production figures in recent years.

Ministers and high level energy executives from Mali, Somalia, Namibia and Uganda were among panelists at the Special Session.

Organised by IHS Markit, CERAWeek is a global platform on energy trends and public policy, where over 4,000 oil and gas experts convene annually to debate the future of oil, natural gas, renewable energy, power and new technologies.

Curiously, the government of Kenya has taken a major initiative ahead of the Nigerian government by addressing crude oil revenue-sharing challenges, especially the host community concerns, by signing a new petroleum law.

Nigeria currently uses a 1969 law, the Petroleum Act, to manage activities in her oil industry. But industry experts have repeatedly described the 1969 law as archaic and unfit for the purpose in an industry that has continued to evolve.

The country has also failed to adequately address the impacts of oil exploration on host communities, thus resulting to frequent agitation and militancy in the oil-producing Niger Delta region.

Kenyan Petroleum Exploration Development and Production Bill 2017 was signed last Tuesday by President Kenyatta. It granted the central government of the country 75 per cent of the revenue accruing from crude oil and gas exploited in the country, while county governments and the local host communities would take 20 per cent and five per cent, respectively, from the revenue.

Relying on its 1969 law, Nigeria has mined and produced oil for more than 50 years, while Kenya’s Tullow Oil and its partner, Africa Oil, discovered commercial oil reserves in the Lokichar basin in 2012. The companies are working towards a final investment decision (FID) by the end of this year.

Kenya’s enactment of its new petroleum law comes almost seven months after Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari, refused to assent to the PIGB, a bill legislated by the National Assembly to, among other objectives, address key governance issues in Nigeria’s oil industry.

 Courtesy: www.brandspurng.com