Nigerian oil reserves reach 30 billion barrels

Nigeria's oil reserves have hit 30 billion barrels and further increases in production are expected, President Olusegun Obasanjo's adviser on petroleum Rilwanu Lukman said.

"I wish to inform you that as of today... we have achieved our target of 30 billion barrels, which incidentally we had not planned to do until 2003," Lukman told a news conference.

Nigeria now also has the world's seventh largest natural gas reserves, with 159 trln cubic feet, said Lukman, who is also president of OPEC.

"As the country progresses towards its aspiration of attaining oil reserves of 40 billion barrels and productibility of 4 million barrels a day by 2010, gas production may increase to 7.1 billion cubic feet per day," he said.

Gas production now stands at 3.8 billion cubic feet per day.

The increase in gas production would come hand in hand with an end to the practice of gas flaring, where energy firms burn off tonnes of gas around oil wells, he said.

This would end by 2008, he said, by which time a major gas pipeline would link Nigeria, Ghana, Benin and Togo to export the substance around the region, he said.

"The project, when completed will deliver about 400 million standard cubic feet of gas per day to the west African sub-region ... enhancing energy self-sufficiency," Lukman said.

© AFX News

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