Indigenous companies contribute 40% of Nigeria’s oil reserves, says NUPRC

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) says local operators currently contribute 40 per cent and 32 per cent of oil and gas reserves, respectively.

Oil reserves are estimates of crude oil located in a particular economic region.

Gbenga Komolafe, chief executive officer, NUPRC, said this in Abuja on Sunday at the Independent Petroleum Products Group (IPPG) Gala.

The IPPG is an umbrella body of the indigenous petroleum exploration and production (E&P) companies in Nigeria.

Some of those honoured are Ambrosie Orjiako, pioneer chair of Seplat, Abdulrasaq Isa of Waltersmith, Tunde Afolabi of Amni International, Layi Fatona, pioneer managing director of Niger Delta Exploration and Production, among others. 

“As at today, I am proud to say that indigenous companies contribute about 30 per cent of crude oil and 60 per cent of gas production as well as 40 per cent and 32 per cent of oil and gas reserves, respectively,” he said.

Komolafe said seven indigenous companies are currently among the top 20 with the highest oil reserves in the country.

He added that the IPPG remains a major force in the exploration of the country’s hydrocarbon resources for maximal value addition.

He said prior to 1970, the Nigerian oil and gas space was dominated by foreign companies in the upstream and downstream sectors, with the first award of oil blocks to two indigenous companies failing because of lack of finances and technical know-how.

Komolafe noted that since then, there have been several programmes where 30 blocks were awarded on a sole risk basis, while 24 were awarded between 2003 and 2004.

“Over 29 assets have been divested between 2009 till date, presenting an opportunity for indigenous companies,” he added.

He added that 57 fields were issued in 2020, resulting in 102 petroleum prospecting licences (PPLs) issued by the commission to indigenous companies.

He said Nigeria has the largest participation of local operators in the oil and gas industry among all petroleum-producing countries in Africa, as a result of its robust local content policy.

Recently, NUPRC said the 2020 marginal field bid round exercise generated about N200 billion as well as $7 million in revenue for the federal government (FG).