The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has said Africa’s proven oil reserves reached 126 billion barrels in 2019, with Nigeria having 36.9bn, which is about 29 per cent of the continent’s total reserves.
OPEC Secretary General, Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, stated this at the African Energy Week (AEW) 2021 in Cape Town, South Africa, where he also spoke about a bright look for Africa.
“Africa’s potential refining capacity is expected to start increasing in 2022 at just below 0.4 million barrels per day (mb/d0, before reaching just above 1mb/d in 2026. Many of these projects will involve petrochemical integration.”
With over 36.9bn barrels of oil and 200 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, Nigeria has emerged as one of Africa’s biggest energy sectors, attracting significant levels of investment and driving project developments across the entire energy value chain.
Through a complete sectoral restructuring, and by capitalizing on progressive legislature and national energy policies to accelerate investment post-COVID-19, Nigeria has made a strong case for investment especially with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) signed in July 2021.
Speaking during the Nigeria country spotlight session at the event, Governor of OPEC for Nigeria, Dr Adedapo Odulaja, said, “It is not that the PIA will be a game-changer, it is already a game-changer and the game is already changing. In the weeks to come, everyone will see this. A lot of investors and people who want to invest in the industry are already looking critical and taking more of an interest in it.”
