If unchecked, Nigeria's oil reserves will dry up in 49 years- DPR

Nigeria’s rich oil reserves of 37 billion barrels, two percent of which is being produced annually, will be depleted in 49 years, the Department of Petroleum Resources has said.

The reserves have been depleting as quickly as possible according to the statistics.

The reserves, which stood at 37.45 billion barrels in 2014, fell to 37.06 billion barrels in 2015 and 36.74 billion barrels in 2016. It, however, rose to 36.97 billion barrels in 2017 and 37 billion barrels in 2018, the DPR data showed.

“The nation’s depletion rate and life index are 2.04 percent and 49.03 years respectively,” the regulator said.

The reserves depletion rate is a measure of 2018 total oil and condensate production divided by the reserves as of January 1, 2019, according to the DPR.

It said, “This indicator gives a bird’s eye on an annual basis, what percentage proportion of the quoted reserves was produced.

“The life index, on the other hand, is a measure of the reserves as of January 1, 2019, divided by the total production in 2018. This parameter highlights how long (in years) quoted reserves volumes will be available for production.”

To be at par with the government's requirement of four million barrels per day production and reserves of 40 billion barrels, “there is a need for a corresponding increase in reserves as production increases," the regulator noted.

Failure to do that will deplete the reserves life's index from a sustainable long-term threshold to a less futuristic and sustainable medium to short-term range.

While suspicious eyes have turned to the JV Operators who have the highest production contract compared to other companies, it is possible the companies may have taken advantage of the poor government take in the deep offshore terrain to deplete the reserve.