In 2018, Nigeria's primary energy consumption was about 155 Mtoe. Most of the energy comes from traditional biomass and waste, which accounted for 73.5% of total primary consumption in 2018. The rest is from fossil fuels (26.4%) and hydropower.
Coal, petroleum reserves, natural gas, peat, hydroelectricity, solar and wind are major energy resources in Nigeria and the country remains a top producer of crude oil and natural gas in Africa. Its production in 2022 averaged 1.2 million barrels of oil per day (bopd), and 300 barrels per day (bpd) of condensate, making it the biggest oil producer on the continent. Nigeria has oil reserves of about 37 billion barrels and gas reserves of about 206 Tcf, ranking 10th and 8th in the world, respectively, and giving it plenty of room to further grow its hydrocarbons industry. However, Nigeria is also a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and is frequently subject to production quotas.
According to BMC, "Nigeria is Africa's energy giant. It is the continent's most prolific oil-producing country, which, along with Libya, accounts for two-thirds of Africa's crude oil reserves. It ranks second to Algeria in natural gas. Most of Africa's bitumen and lignite reserves are found in Nigeria. In its mix of conventional energy reserves, Nigeria is simply unmatched by any other country on the African continent. It is not surprising therefore that energy export is the mainstay of the Nigerian economy and the government is targeting 90% electrification rate by 2030. Also, primary energy resources dominate the nation's industrial raw material endowment." There was a need for the country to scale up sustainable investment due to the destabilization of oil prices as a result of geopolitical risks and energy transition.
Overview + Energy in NigeriaIEA Key World Energy Statistics Statistics 2015 , 2014 (2012R as in November 2015 + 2012 as in March 2014 is comparable to previous years statistical calculation criteria, 2013 , 2012 , 2011 , 2010 , 2009 , 2006 IEA October, crude oil p.11, coal p. 13 gas p. 15 Population (million) Primary energy (TWh) Production (TWh) Export (TWh) Electricity (TWh) CO2 emissions (Mt) 2004 128.7 1,151 2,668 1,508 13.4 47.6 2007 148.0 1,241 2,695 1,445 20.3 51.4 2008 151.3 1,293 2,638 1,343 19.1 52.4 2009 154.7 1,259 2,660 1,419 18.6 41.2 2010 158.42 1,315 3,005 1,691 21.62 45.90 2012 162.47 1,376 2,988 1,607 24.45 52.85 2012R 168.83 1,555 3,160 1,625 26.22 64.56 2013 174.00 1,554 2,973 1,415 24.52 61.00 Mtoe = 11.63 TWh. Prim. energy includes energy losses 2012R = CO2 calculation criteria changed, numbers updated
Petroleum
The first oil well in Nigeria was drilled in 1958 in Oloibiri which is present day Bayelsa State. This acted as a milestone for the production of oil and gas in Nigeria and the emergence of the country as a top oil & gas producer globally. In 2022, Nigeria was still Africa's biggest oil producer and one of the largest in the world.
International Oil Companies (IOCs) like Shell, TotalEnergies, ExxonMobil, Chevron Corporation, Eni, and Equinor, have invested in Nigeria for decades and remain the biggest producing companies in the country, especially offshore. However, heavy security challenges in the Niger Delta coupled with persistent crude theft on onshore pipeline systems have steadily pushed IOCs out of onshore areas, leaving place for Nigerian independents to take over critical oil & gas assets.
Such divestments by IOCs have allowed the rise of several Nigerian Exploration and Production (E&P) companies in the Niger Delta, including Seplat Energy, Oando (Owned by Adewale Tinubu), Amni International, Conoil, First E&P, ND Western, Neconde Energy, First Hydrocarbons Nigeria and many more.
Ogoniland
The Ogoni people live historically in the Niger Delta in the southeastern region of Nigeria.Ogoniland oil facilities are operated mainly by the Shell Petroleum Development Corporation in the upstream and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company in the downstream since the 1950s. The Ogoni campaign against Shell Oil was led by the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP). MOSOP is campaigning for the expulsion of Shell from Ogoniland.Environmental Assessment of Ogoniland UNEP 4 Aug 2011 Full report 2011 (9.7 MB pdf) Pages 24-25, 39,
According to a United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) assessment in August 2011, oil contamination is widespread in the Ogoniland and oil spillage still continues even in the old oil field areas. The Ogoni people live with this pollution every day. As Ogoniland has high rainfall, delay in the cleaning of the oil spills leads to spread oil contamination in the farmlands. Oil contamination of land areas, sediments and swampland are extensive. The wetlands around Ogoniland are highly degraded and facing disintegration. Fishermen must move to less contaminated areas in search of fish. The current Ogoniland community has lived with chronic oil pollution throughout their lives. Of most immediate concern in December 2011, community members at Nisisioken Ogale are drinking water contaminated with benzene, a known carcinogen, at level over 900 times above the WHO guideline.UNEP Ogoniland Oil Assessment Reveals Extent of Environmental Contamination and Threats to Human Health UNEP 4 Aug 2011,Environmental Assessment of Ogoniland UNEP 4 Aug 2011, Full report 2011 (9.7 MB pdf)
Environmental damage The Niger Delta is one of the most polluted regions in the world. More oil is spilled each year than in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. Nigerian government reports more than 7,000 spills between 1970 and 2000 and 2,000 major spillage sites."Shell oil spills in the Niger delta: 'Nowhere and no one has escaped, The Guardian, 3 August 2011agony dwarfs the Gulf oil spill. The US and Europe ignore it Guardian 30 May 2010
Pollution and environmental damage of the oil industry has a serious impact on people living in the Niger Delta. The environment laws are poorly enforced. Government agencies responsible for enforcement were ineffective and, in some cases, compromised by conflicts of interest. Communities in the Niger Delta frequently had no access to vital information about the impact of the oil industry on their lives. On 1 May 2010, crude oil from a leaking oil from an offshore platform of ExxonMobil's Qua Iboe oilfield reached the shores of the Ibeno community, Akwa Ibom state.Amnesty International Report 2011 page 247
Representatives of Anglo-Dutch oil giant Shell are appearing in a Dutch civil court to face accusations of polluting Nigerian villages in 2012.Nigeria oil spills: Dutch case against Shell begins BBC 11 October 2012 The UNEP report (2011) concludes that pollution of soil by petroleum hydrocarbons in Ogoniland is extensive inland areas, sediments and swampland.Environmental Assessment of Ogoniland UNEP 2011
Oil spills Shell Nigeria announced 40,000 barrels of the crude oil spill in Nigeria in December 2011. Bonga Field produces around 200,000 barrels a day. The spill was among the worst off the coast of Nigeria in 10 years."Nigeria on alert as Shell announces worst oil spill in a decade", The Guardian, 22.12.2011 280,000 barrels of oil were estimated spilled in 2008 in two leaks in the Bodo region in the Ogoni district in 2008. Bodo is at the epicenter of several pipelines that collect oil from nearly 100 wells. Nearly 80% of people in Bodo were fishermen dependent on clean water.
Human rights The Niger Delta area is oil-rich.
Because of Nigeria's role as a regional power, leading oil exporter, and major contributor of troops to United Nations peacekeeping missions, foreign governments—including the United States and the United Kingdom—have been reluctant to publicly criticize Nigeria's human rights record. In 2010 the UK increased funding to £140 million in aid to Nigeria, including security sector aid, without demanding accountability for Nigerian officials and members of the security forces implicated in corrupt practices and serious human rights abuses.Human Rights Watch World Report 2011 pages 148
Coal Coal is a fossil fuel and the remnant affected by prehistoric vegetation originally accumulated in swamps and peat bogs. It is made up of carbon, hydrogen, sulphur and nitrogen which makes it combustible. It could be used as fuel for electricity, in the production of cement, it is also used as fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore. The production of coal started in Nigeria in 1902 in Enugu where it was first discovered. Coal mines are also found in Kogi and Benue State. The Nigerian Coal corporation established in 1950 is the agency in charge of coal mining activities in Nigeria.
In the past, coal was the major source of energy for the country as it was used to power electricity plants. It was also used for locomotives that made use of coal. Nigeria has a coal reserve of 379,194,640 tons. She is ranked 44th in position of the world's total reserve of 1,139,471 million tons (MMst); with proven reserves equivalent to 1,961.4 times its annual consumption. This implies Nigeria has about 1,961 years of Coal left at current consumption levels and excluding unproven reserves.
Gas
Since gas well drilling started in Nigeria in the 1950s, significant reserves of Associated Gas (AG) and Non-Associated Gas (NAG) were discovered onshore and offshore, leading to the exportation of gas as liquid natural gas (LNG) and its monetization in-country for power generation.
Gas in Nigeria is supplied to a variety of industrial users in and around Lagos and Port Harcourt. The gas originates in the Niger Delta area before it is injecting into the Escravos-Lagos Pipeline System (ELPS), whose construction and installation started on October 15, 2011. A number of major industrial users utilize this gas in captive power plants such as Guinness's Ogba and Benin breweries.Guinness, Ogba Combined Heat & Power Plant It has become a cleaner and cheaper source of energy in the manufacturing sector particularly in southern Nigeria (Lagos, Rivers, Edo, cross river).
Process and Industrial Developments Ltd (P&ID) entered into a 20-year contract with the Nigerian government for natural gas supply and processing. Nigeria provided the gas, which PI&D refined so that it could be used to power the Nigerian electrical grid. PI&D could keep valuable byproducts for its own use. In 2012, PI&D demanded arbitration in London, alleging that Nigeria had not supplied the agreed quantity of gas or to construct the infrastructure it had agreed to build. The arbitral tribunal awarded damages of more than £4.8 billion. The compensation was valued £8.15 billion with interest when the case was heard in London High Court in December 2022.
Hydropower
The country, Nigeria, is rich in natural resources including large rivers and natural falls. Niger River, River Benue and Lake Chad Basin inclusive are the country's major water resources providing Hydropower to the country. Nigeria's hydropower total installed capacity is 12,522 Megawatts (this excludes off-grid generation which is 2,062 Megawatts). Total exploitable potential of hydropower is estimated at over 14,120 MW, which amounts to more than 50,800 GWh of electricity annually. Nearly 85 per cent of hydropower is yet to be developed, and this provides solutions in addressing existing power shortages.
The Jebba hydropower plant has an installed capacity of 578.4MW which is located on the Niger river; also has six turbines with a capacity of 96.4MW respectively.
Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Station would be the largest power station in the country but construction is stalled.
Nuclear