Investment in Nigeria’s oil, gas industry down by 20% – Chevron boss

Ali Moshiri, the President of Chevron Africa and Latin America Exploration and Production, has said the total investment in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry, which stood at $20 billion in 2014, has dropped by 20 per cent in 2015.

Moshiri disclosed this in Lagos at the 33rd annual conference of the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists.

Moshiri that Nigeria accounted for $20 billion out of the $600 billion investment in the global oil and gas industry in 2014.

In Africa, Moshiri said, Nigeria was the top producer of liquid hydrocarbon and number three in gas production.

He said the country’s position in gas was because of lack of gas infrastructure and not because of the level of its gas resources.

He said: “But when you talk about investment, total industry investment in 2014 was about $600 billion and Nigeria had around $20 billion.

“After the price crash, there is tremendous reduction in global investment.”

Moshiri said Nigeria had tremendous capacity and resources to produce far above the current two million barrels of crude oil per day, but added that much investment would be required.

He said a $20 billion investment would be required yearly for the country to replace its current production levels.

Moshiri said many projects were locked up in Nigeria because of cost, citing the Bonga South West project as one of the them.

He said the current slump in crude oil price was as a result of “much inventory in the oil market”.

Moshiri said between 2014 and 2015, about four million barrels of crude oil per day were unconventionally introduced into the market, which led to this development.

In his speech, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State said Nigeria currently maintained an economically unstable energy trade balance in which the country exports virtually all the crude oil produced and import substantial part of the petroleum products consumed in the country.

Ambode, who was represented by the Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Olawale Oluwo, also argued that the country had under-utilised other energy sources such as bitumen, coal and non-carbon-related energy sources.

He said: “Therefore, the challenge before us is to determine how we as a nation can adapt to these emerging scenarios in global and national oil and gas so that we take advantage of them and shape them to our advantage.”

NAN.