Oil and Gas Business in Nigeria

Introduction

The Oil and Gas business is a very lucrative business here in Nigeria, as we all know that Nigeria is the third largest oil and gas producer in Africa. Most Nigerians see it as business only for the rich ones. There is no doubt that there is serious money in the oil and gas business but people think it is a type of business for top politicians and extremely rich people in the country.

Nigeria is the tenth largest producer in the world and its oil revenues account for about ninety-five percent of Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings. According to NNPC, Nigeria has about 176 trillion cubic feet of proven natural gas reserves. For the latest Nigeria Oil and Gas news , always visit OrientalNews NIgeria

Brief History of Oil and Gas in Nigeria

Oil was discovered in Nigeria in 1956 at Oloibiri in the Niger Delta of the country after half a century of exploration. The discovery was made by Shell-BP. Nigeria joined the ranks of oil producers in 1958 when its first oil field came on stream producing 5,100 bpd.

After 1960, exploration rights in onshore and offshore areas adjoining the Niger Delta were extended to other foreign companies and in 1965 the EA field was discovered by Shell in shallow water southeast of Warri.

Petroleum production and export play a dominant role in Nigeria’s economy and account for about 90% of her gross earnings. This dominant role has pushed agriculture, the traditional mainstay of the economy, from the early fifties and sixties, to the background. Check out the latest NNPC Breaking News on OrientalNews Nigeria

Major Events in the history of the Nigerian Oil and Gas

The following are some of the major events that took place in the history of the Nigerian Oil and Gas.

. Nigerian Bitumen Co. and British Colonial Petroleum commenced operations in Okipupa in 1908

. Shell D’ Arcy granted exploration license to prospect for oil throughout Nigeria in 1938

. In 1955, Mobil Oil Corporation started operations in Nigeria

. First shipment of oil from Nigeria was in 1958

. In 1977, the government established Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) by Decree 33, (NNOC & MPR extinguished)

Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is the sole body in charge of oil and gas business in Nigeria. NNPC was established in 1977 by the federal government. The NNPC has its headquarters based in FCT Abuja.

The Corporation was given powers and operational interests in refining, petrochemicals and products transportation as well as marketing.

Later on, the NNPC was commercialized into twelve strategic business units, covering the entire spectrum of oil industry operations such as; exploration and production, gas development, refining, distribution, petrochemicals, engineering, and commercial investments.

Oil and Gas Business Ideas and Opportunities

There are so many oil and gas business opportunities here in Nigeria. These businesses are quite lucrative but requires huge sum of money. To start any type of oil and gas business, you need a good location, funds, and legal proceedings.

The following are some of the lucrative oil and gas businesses.

. Cooking Gas Business

. Haulage and Logistics

. Diesel Supply Business

. Blogging on Oil and Gas

. Oil and Gas Business via Shares

. Kerosene Business

Oil and Gas Companies in Nigeria

There are more than fifty oil and gas companies in Nigeria.  These companies have branches in other countries of the world. The following is the list of some notable oil companies across the country.

1.      Shell Nigeria

2.      Chevron

3.      Total

4.      ExxonMobil

5.      NNPC – Government-owned

6.      Addax Petroleum

7.      NLNG

8.      Statoil

9.      Conoil

10.  Oando – Africa’s largest energy provider

11.  Sahara Energy

12.  Nestoil

13.  Forte Oil

14.  Schlumberger Amazon Energy

15.  MRS Oil