The Federal Government has identified about 213 gas blocks that are open for investments.
A document obtained by The PUNCH titled, “Nigeria’s Cretaceous Basins: The Potentials for Gas,” put together by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, stated that the gas blocks were located in the Niger Delta, Anambra, Benue Trough, Bida, Chad, Dahomey and Sokoto.
It said 69 of the blocks were discovered in the Niger Delta basin, 12 in Anambra, 41 in Benue Trough, 17 in Bida, 40 in Chad, six in Dahomey, and 28 in Sokoto.
Already, the country has 60 gas basins under the Oil Prospecting Licences; 44 are in the Niger Delta, five in Anambra, two in Benue Trough, six in Chad, and three in Dahomey.
There are also 115 gas wells already allocated under Oil Mining Licenses 112 in the Niger Delta, two in Anambra and one in Dahomey.
The Federal Government, through the National Gas Expansion Programme, declared 2020 to 2030 as the decade of gas, and has identified gas as the country’s transitional fuel.
As part of Nigeria’s contribution to energy transition, the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), in 2021, during the United Nations Climate Change Conference held in Glasgow, pledged that the country would reach net zero by 2060.
In exclusive report by The PUNCH, it was reported that the Federal Government would need N834trn to attain its net zero agenda.
“That is a tall one. Where will the money come from? That target is ambitious and aspirational but again, because we are looking at a long term thing; we must not totally dismiss it” the immediate past Director-General of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Muda Yusuf, stated.
He added, “With what is happening globally, you can see that the pace of decarbonisation has slowed. Countries that are committed to a more aggressive push are going back to fossil fuels, looking for coal.
“I am not optimistic that raising such an amount will be easy. Then the commitment to the COP is also not too impressive and very weak. And if commitment is this low, how do you convince investors either in form of aid or whatever, to invest this kind of huge money. It’s going to be a tall order.”
The NUPRC said Nigeria’s cretaceous basins hold a promising future for the Nigerian oil and gas industry, and presents a pathway for Nigeria to decarbonise, while ensuring energy security.
It stated that further exploration of the other cretaceous basins would deepen and realise the potential for Nigeria to triple its gas reserves by 2050.
Independent researcher and development practitioner and consultant on the DFID-funded Facility for Oil Sector Transformation, managed by the Oxford Policy Management, Dauda Garuba, said the management of Nigeria’s revenue from its natural resources should be topmost concern.
“Gas is touted as the transition mineral. Nigeria is richer in gas than oil. I see much more to be discovered. However, we should be more concerned about the management of earnings from this,” he said.
