Nigerian oil reserves rise, output up 26% as theft declines

Nigeria's oil and gas reserves edged up in 2024, the industry regulator said on Thursday, while crude oil production surged 26% between April 2023 and late 2024 as incidents of theft declined.

Nigeria, Africa's top oil producer, relies on the commodity for around two-thirds of its revenue and more than 90% of foreign currency earnings. But large-scale oil theft has crimped output and curbed government finances in recent years.

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) reported a 1.45% rise in oil reserves and a 0.21% increase in natural gas reserves in 2024 compared to 2023.

Nigeria holds around 37-billion barrels of proven oil reserves and an estimated 209 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves.

NUPRC chief Gbenga Komolafe said active rig count had surged to an average of 38 from just eight in 2021, a 79% increase.

"With effective collaboration with security agencies, oil theft and deferment have reduced drastically by more than 40% in the last year," Komolafe said in a statement.

Still, Nigeria is grappling to meet an oil output target of 2.062-million barrels per day (bpd) for its 2025 national budget. Current output averages 1.7-million bpd, creating a shortfall of around 360,000 bpd.

To address this gap, the government has stepped up a crackdown on oil theft as it aims to raise national production to 3-million bpd this year.

Komolafe said the NUPRC will also seek to enhance efficiency by encouraging oil producers to collaborate and streamline their operations to help achieve the 3-million bpd target.