Nigeria: African Powerhouse

In 2018, the increase in oil prices helped the Nigerian economy sustain its growth, which saw its first full year of positive economic data since the country exited five consecutive quarters of recession in 2017. However, in spite of a legislative push to segment and pass the Petroleum Industry Bill, President Buhari rebuffed the version of the bill that had been passed by the National Assembly, raising doubts about the consistency and stability of the administration’s oil and gas industry reforms.

Despite the challenges, investment continues. The 250,000 bopd Dangote refinery is set to start operating in 2020, while the Egina project, bound to add 200,000 bopd to the country’s production figure, will begin producing between the last months of 2018 and the first ones of 2019. In July 2018, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Group Managing Director Maikanti Baru announced its intention to increase crude oil reserves from 37 billion barrels to 40 billion barrels in 2020, as well as to achieve a daily national production of 3 million barrels of oil per day.

Together with a push to secure and increase crude oil production, the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, together with the NNPC, has deepened its commitment to focus on Nigeria’s vast gas resources through the signing of the landmark Seven Critical Gas Development Projects, which are expected to bring 96.3 mcm (3.4 bcf) per day of gas on line by 2020, and generate at least 15,000 MW of electricity by 2020. The continuation and strengthening of the country’s local content policies, in addition to the strategic downstream development Nigeria is starting to witness, all play a major role in TOGY’s coverage of this exciting market.