Nigeria – Indigenous producers under the umbrella of Independent Petroleum Producers Group (IPPG), said they planned to ramp up their crude oil production by one million barrels per day (bpd) and their gas output by one trillion cubic feet (TCF) per day within the next five to 10 years.
The assertion came amid a rebounding Nigerian oil and gas industry, after years of decline and inactivity.
Chairman of the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN) and Chief Executive Officer of Geoplex Driileq, Mr. Wole Ogunsanya, made the projection yesterday during his kick-off address at the day one of the ongoing Nigerian International Energy Summit (NIES 2024) in Abuja.
Ogunsanya, who spoke during the Local Content Forum of the summit, which centred around “Accelerating Local Content Development: Practical Solutions for Africa’s Energy Future,” also revealed that PETAN planned to invest about $450 million to grow the capacity of its members in preparation for future jobs and projects.
He spoke on the heels of the opportunities provided by the Nigerian Content Act, which mandated that local operators, service companies and contractors be prioritised during divestment of assets or award of contracts.
Promoting local content in the oil and gas sector, Ogunsanya argued that big indigenous players had emerged, saying with their proven capacity and the growth in the number of assets being in the hands of indigenous firms, their production would rise significantly in the next five to 10 years.
He stated, “In the next five to 10 years, we see the IPPG growing production by a million barrels. We see their gas production increase by 1 billion cubic feet. That will represent 15 per cent of the gas that we produced last year,” he said.
Quoting data from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), he said Nigeria produced seven billion cubic feet (BCF) of gas in 2024.
“For us in PETAN, we see ourselves investing up to $450 million to grow local content capacity of our members, including the new members that are joining us.”
Ogunsanya said companies on the oil services side would ensure that they have the right capacity to complement the producers.
According to him, Nigeria is witnessing growth in domestic refining capacity as well as the rising demand for crude, citing the 450,000 barrels refining capacity by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) and the 650,000 barrels per day Dangote Refinery.
He mentioned BUA’s 350,000 barrels capacity refinery, stating that with all the refineries currently existing, the country boast 1.2 million barrels of refining capacity in the country.
Ogunsanya explained , “If we do the job right, those of us in the industry providing services, the producers, the regulators are here, and the government of Nigeria, whatever the price of oil is, we need 1.2 million barrels for local refining. And after that, the government is still going to make money. The OPEC puts about 1.6. So if you add that, you’re in the region of 2.7 or 2.8 million barrels.
“If we do it right for this country, and most of those productions will be owned by Nigerians, either through NNPC, where there are 55 per cent, the 45 per cent is owned by indigenous E&P companies. So, imagine the implication of that on our GDP. Imagine the ability to have all the products that we need in Nigeria.
“Imagine what 1 billion cubic feet of gas will do to power in this country. So that’s what we see. We see a very rosy industry for the next five to 10 years. And it’s going to require a collaborative effort from every stakeholder.”
Meanwhile, Petroleum Contractors Trade Section (PCTS), a unit of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), decried the importation of threaded steel pipes into Nigeria in violation of the Nigerian Content Act. Chairman of PCTS, Mrs Rosario Osobase, stated this at the same event, revealing that 76,000 metric tons of threaded steel pipes were imported from China and some other places into Nigeria in 2024 alone with no single ton threaded in-country according to set rules.
Osobase said, “In PCTS, we see issues in the last 10 years where we see myriads of threaded pipes coming into this country. Last year alone, in 2024, 76,000 metric tons of threaded steel pipes arrived from China and various destinations. The only problem with those tonnages coming into this country is that not even a ton was threaded in-country.
“None of those 76,000 metric tons were coated in-country. That’s a problem for us. That’s a food for thoughts.”
By Damilola Adeleke| February 25, 2025