Wisdom Engraced
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Nigeria is sitting on a vast treasure trove of untapped oil and gas reserves, with over 3.5 billion barrels of oil and condensate reserves locked in undeveloped fields across different basins. Valued at approximately $227.5 billion (N341.25 trillion) at current prices, this staggering amount is over 600% of Nigeria’s 2025 budget. To put this into perspective, N341.25 trillion could fund 413,000 kilometres of roads at N825 million per kilometer, 2 million primary health centres at N150 million each, or 5 million blocks of two classrooms at N65 million each.
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However, Nigeria’s public debt has risen to N149.39 trillion as of March 31, 2025, with the country’s debt stock crossing N149 trillion in Q1 2025. The persistent rise in debt stock is attributed to new borrowings and the depreciation of the naira.
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) reports that 18.8 trillion cubic feet of associated and non-associated gas reserves are still locked under the ground. The development status of deepwater oil and gas fields reveals a significant untapped potential in the sector, with 31.65% of these fields remaining undeveloped. “This implies that over 3,500 MMB of oil and condensate reserves and 18.8 TCF of non-associated gas and associated gas reserves are locked in undeveloped fields,” the report said.
Industry experts are calling for action to unlock these reserves. Bayo Ojulari, Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, emphasized the need to turn oil reserves into production, saying, “Our oil in the ground doesn’t matter to anybody. It has to convert to cash for the country to get the benefit that we need. We’ve had oil in the ground for so long, so long. It’s time to begin to get the deals that will get the oil out of the ground.”
The NUPRC also stated that the 220 oil blocks would be handed to concessionaires after periodic bid rounds and conditions had been met. Johnbosco Uche, President of NAPE, recommends holding bid rounds annually to ramp up production and boost reserve growth to 40 billion barrels. “We just need to have the right data room; let there be incentives to allow more investors to come in. On an annual basis, keep the sector busy,” he said.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, threatened to withdraw oil blocks from owners that have failed to develop them, saying, “We cannot continue to have assets sitting idle for 20 to 30 years without development. If you are not utilising an asset and it remains underdeveloped for decades, it neither adds value to your books nor to us as a country.”
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Jonathan Nwokpor
