Wednesday, October 05, 2011

Africa Supplies 10 Percent of Global Crude Oil Daily

Africa supplies 10 per cent global crude oil daily

Wednesday, 05 October 2011 00:00
By Obiora Aduba
Business Services Energy Report
Nigerian Guardian

AFRICA has been supplying eight to nine million barrels crude oil per day, close to 10 per cent global daily supply as yearly growth has risen between three to four per cent.

Disclosing this while presenting a paper on Africa’s Place in Global and Regional Oil and Gas Dynamics, at an event, recently, an Oil and Gas Specialist, Ecobank Capital, Rolake Akinola, said that sub- Sahara Africa oil reserves have grown from 53.4 billion barrels in 1980 to 132.1 billion in 2010.

She stated that demand for Africa oil is driven by the United States and emerging markets as well as growing consumer market and local industry.

According to her, “Africa’s share in global production is at 12.20 per cent but is set to rise. In a world obsessed with energy security, stable sources of crude oil will become highly sought after.

Akinola stated that global oil demand has been rising steadily over the past decade as it will grow by 36 per cent in 2035 adding that in 2010, consumption was around 88 million barrels per day (bpd) and is likely to be around 89.3 million (bpd) in 2011.

The oil and gas specialist emphasized that there has been up to 1,000 more potential farm-ins in sub-Sahara Africa over the last one year, as offshore capital expenditure in the East Africa region is $400 million in 2010.

She pointed out that East Africa is producing around 1,000 bdp of condensate and around 430 million cubic feet of gas per day all from Tanzania and Mozambique as Uganda, like Ghana, will be one of the non-OPEC drivers of oil supply growth in 2012.

But according to Energy Information Administration (EIA) , with the recent focus on supply disruptions and the potential for continuing unrest in North Africa and the Middle East, several positive developments in oil supply from West Africa may have escaped attention.

EIA, in a release at the weekend, announced that arresting earlier declines, Nigeria and Angola, have each managed relatively robust production and export performances, helping offset shortfalls in supply from Libya, Syria, and Yemen.

It stated that both countries offer the promise of further, significant capacity additions in the short- to medium-term, although, in Nigeria, some major challenges still remain.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates that direct attacks on Nigeria’s oil infrastructure, pipeline leaks, and explosions caused by illegal bunkering have, at times, caused crude production to range between 1.7 million bpd to 2.1 million bpd, well below the nameplate capacity of about 2.9 million bpd.

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