Nigeria Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! === Oil and natural gas === {{further|Petroleum industry in Nigeria|Oil theft in Nigeria}} [[File:Nigeria-oil-n-gas.jpg|thumb|Oil and gas fields in the Niger delta|300x300px]] Nigeria is the [[List of countries by oil production|15th largest producer of petroleum in the world]], the [[List of countries by oil exports|6th largest exporter]], and has the [[List of countries by proven oil reserves|9th largest proven reserves]]. Petroleum plays a large role in the Nigerian economy and politics, accounting for about 80% of government earnings. Nigeria also has the [[List of countries by natural gas proven reserves|9th largest proven natural gas reserves]] estimated by [[OPEC]]; the government's value of its about 206.53 trillion cubic feet has been valued at $803.4 trillion.<ref>{{cite web |last=Nnodim |first=Okechukwu |date=2022-04-29 |title=Nigeria's proven gas reserves worth over $803.4tn β FG |url=https://punchng.com/nigerias-proven-gas-reserves-worth-over-803-4tn-fg/ |access-date=2023-06-14 |website=Punch Newspapers |language=en-US}}</ref> Natural gas is seen as having the potential to unlock an [[economic miracle]] on the Niger River.<ref>{{cite web |author=PricewaterhouseCoopers |title=Evaluating Nigeria's Gas Value Chain |url=https://www.pwc.com/ng/en/publications/evaluating-nigeria-gas-value-chain.html |access-date=2023-06-14 |publisher=PwC |language=en-NG}}</ref> Nigeria each year loses to [[Gas flare|gas flaring]] an estimate of US$2.5 billion,<ref>{{cite journal |last=Ejiogu |first=Amanze R. |date=2013 |title=Gas Flaring in Nigeria: Costs and Policy |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/43735213 |journal=Energy & Environment |volume=24 |issue=6 |pages=983β998 |doi=10.1260/0958-305X.24.6.983 |jstor=43735213 |bibcode=2013EnEnv..24..983E |s2cid=153746438 |issn=0958-305X}}</ref> and over 120,000 barrels of oil per day to [[Oil theft in Nigeria|crude theft]] in the [[Niger Delta]], its main oil-producing region.<ref>{{cite news |last=Onuah |first=Felix |date=2022-08-19 |title=Nigeria's Buhari worried over large scale crude oil theft |publisher=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/nigerias-buhari-worried-over-large-scale-crude-oil-theft-2022-08-19/ |access-date=2023-06-14}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=2022-07-07 |title=Shell Nigeria says crude oil theft an existential threat to industry |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/shell-nigeria-says-crude-oil-theft-an-existential-threat-industry-2022-07-06/ |access-date=2023-06-14}}</ref> This has led to [[Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea|piracy]] and [[Conflict in the Niger Delta|conflict]] for control in the region and has led to disruptions in production preventing the country from meeting its OPEC quota and exporting petroleum at full capability.<ref>{{cite book|last=Williams|first=Lizzie|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fwuQ71ZbaOcC&pg=PA26|title=Nigeria: The Bradt Travel Guide|publisher=Bradt Travel Guides|year=2008|isbn=978-1-84162-239-2|page=26|access-date=26 December 2008}}</ref> [[File:Nigerdelta NASA.jpg|thumb|Overflight photo of the creeks of the Niger Delta]] Nigeria has a total of 159 [[Petroleum reservoir|oil fields]] and 1,481 [[Oil well|wells]] in operation according to the [[Department of Petroleum Resources]].<ref name="NDES2">''Environmental Resources Managers Ltd, Niger Delta Environmental Survey Final Report Phase I; Volume I: Environmental and Socio-Economic Characteristics (Lagos: Niger Delta Environmental Survey, September 1997)''</ref> The most productive region of the nation is the coastal [[Niger Delta Basin (geology)|Niger Delta Basin]] in the Niger Delta or "south-south" region which encompasses 78 of the 159 oil fields. Most of Nigeria's oil fields are small and scattered, and as of 1990, these small fields accounted for 62.1% of all Nigerian production. This contrasts with the sixteen largest fields which produced 37.9% of Nigeria's petroleum at that time.<ref name="politicaleconomy2">''Nigeria: The Political Economy of Oil'' {{ISBN|0-19-730014-6}} (Khan, Ahmad)</ref> Petrol was Nigeria's main import commodity until 2021, accounting for 24% of import volume.<ref>{{cite web |title=Reports {{!}} National Bureau of Statistics |url=https://nigerianstat.gov.ng/elibrary/read/1241147 |access-date=2022-05-28 |website=nigerianstat.gov.ng}}</ref> The Niger Delta Nembe Creek oil field was discovered in 1973 and produces from middle [[Miocene]] [[River delta|deltaic]] [[sandstone]]-[[shale]] in an [[anticline]] [[Petroleum trap|structural trap]] at a depth of {{convert|2|to|4|km|ft|-3|abbr=off}}.<ref>Nelson, P.H.H., Role of Reflection Seismic in Development of Nembe Creek Field, Nigeria, 1980, in Giant Oil and Gas Fields of the Decade: 1968β1978, AAPG Memoir 30, Halbouty, M.T., editor, Tulsa: American Association of Petroleum Geologists, {{ISBN|0-89181-306-3}}, pp. 565β576</ref> In June 2013, Shell announced a strategic review of its operations in Nigeria, hinting that assets could be divested. While many international oil companies have operated there for decades, by 2014 most were making moves to divest their interests, citing a range of issues including oil theft. In August 2014, Shell said it was finalising its interests in four Nigerian oil fields.<ref name="ShellNigeria2">{{cite news |date=27 August 2014 |title=Stakes in four Nigerian oil fields being sold by Shell |publisher=Nigeria Sun |url=http://www.nigeriasun.com/index.php/sid/225153307 |access-date=28 August 2014}}</ref> The supply of natural gas to Europe, threatened by the Ukraine war, is pushing projects to transport Nigerian natural gas via pipelines to Morocco or Algeria.<ref>{{cite web |title=Morocco closer to activating the gas pipeline with Nigeria |url=https://atalayar.com/en/content/morocco-closer-activating-gas-pipeline-nigeria |access-date=2022-05-26 |website=Atalayar |date=27 April 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Nigeria's president launches new gas pipeline project |url=https://www.aa.com.tr/en/energy/natural-gas/nigerias-president-launches-new-gas-pipeline-project/29750 |access-date=2022-05-26 |website=aa.com.tr}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=2022-05-09 |title=Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline (NMGP) Project Updates |url=https://constructionreviewonline.com/project-timelines/nigeria-morocco-gas-pipeline-nmgp-project-updates/ |access-date=2022-05-26 |website=Construction Review Online |language=en-US}}</ref> As of May 2022, however, there are no results on this yet. 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