The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, said on Wednesday that about a billion barrels of crude oil have been discovered in the North East of the country.

Sylva, who disclosed this at a press briefing during the Nigeria International Petroleum Summit 2020 in Abuja, said a lot of oil and gas remained undiscovered in the country.

He, however, warned that most of the resources might have to be left in the ground if not explored and produced before the world moves away from oil.

He said,

“From the evaluation report we are getting, the reserves that has been discovered in the North East is about a billion barrels. And they are beginning to understand to geological structure of that area.

“If there is a lot of exploration, we believe that a lot of oil still remains to be found in Nigeria. And that is the beauty about Nigeria. Nigeria is not yet a mature territory; it is still very prolific.“

The minister noted that the country’s gas reserves of 200 trillion cubic feet was found during the search for oil.

He said,

“There has been no targeted exploration for gas and yet we have 200 Tcf reserves. So, we believe that if we really go out looking for gas, we can find a lot more that will put us in the league of the most prolific in the world.

“Let us allow the investment to come into Nigeria because there is still a lot of oil and gas to be found. Unfortunately, the bad news is that the world’s 2020 outlook tells you that by 2040, oil and gas will account for only 50 per cent of the energy of the world.”

Sylva said this meant that the demand for oil would reduce by 2040, adding, “If the demand will reduce because the world is moving to renewables and other forms of energy, then you must make hay while the sun shines.

“If we don’t create the environment to produce the oil and gas we have today, let us remember that the world did not move away from coal because the coal reserves were depleted; they moved away from coal because there was a superior form of energy discovered.

“So, you might have a situation where you have a lot of oil in your ground in your area, but the world would have moved away from the oil to another form of energy and the oil will no longer make sense. So let us a country begin to ensure that we put our heart where our mouth is.”