At the end of 2010, African oil and natural gas reserves were estimated to be between 200 and 210 billion barrels of oil equivalent.
Africa is on an upward growth curve. Learn more about the role oil and gas companies can play.
Why focus on Africa now?
Investors are taking note of unique investment opportunities across the continent. We take a closer look at this trend across the following topics:
Where is oil and gas in Africa?
Nineteen African countries are significant producers of oil and/or gas, and the revenues from higher prices and the investment that new discoveries are attracting have made a key contribution to growth.
While the majority of reserves and production remain concentrated in six countries — Nigeria, Libya, Algeria, Angola (oil), Sudan (oil) and Egypt (gas) — there have been significant new discoveries in Ghana, Tanzania, Mozambique and Uganda, with prospected fields in other countries, including Sierra Leone, Mali and Kenya.
10 largest African producers of oil and natural gas
| Oil: 2010 | (000 b/d) | | Nigeria | 2,065 | | Angola | 1,790 | | Libya | 1,550 | | Algeria | 1,250 | | Egypt | 740 | | Sudan | 480 | | Congo | 270 | | Equatorial Guinea | 255 | | Gabon | 245 | | Chad | 100 | | Others | 237 | | Total | 8,982 | | | Gas: 2009 | (bcf/d) | | Algeria | 7.88 | | Egypt | 6.07 | | Nigeria | 2.25 | | Libya | 1.54 | | Equatorial Guinea | 0.61 | | Mozambique | 0.35 | | Tunisia | 0.35 | | South Africa | 0.18 | | Cote d'Ivoire | 0.15 | | Angola | 0.07 | | Others | 0.13 | | Total | 19.58 | |
Source: US Department of Energy, Oil & Gas Journal, and Ernst & Young estimates
Oil and natural gas reserves: At the end of 2010, African oil and natural gas reserves were estimated to be between 200 and 210 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe), with the Oil & Gas Journal providing a slightly higher estimate than the US Department of Energy (DOE).
African oil and gas proved reserves 1980 – 2010
Source: US Department of Energy
African proved oil and gas reserves: end – 2010 Oil Gas
| | Oil | Gas | |
|---|
| (million bbls) | (bcf) | (billion boe) |
|---|
| Nigeria | 37,200.0 | 186,880 | 68.3 |
| Libya | 46,420.0 | 54,680 | 55.5 |
| Algeria | 12,200.0 | 159,000 | 38.7 |
| Egypt | 4,400.0 | 77,200 | 17.3 |
| Angola | 9,500.0 | 10,940 | 11.3 |
| Sudan | 5,000.0 | 3,000 | 5.5 |
| Gabon | 2,000.0 | 1,000 | 2.2 |
| Congo | 1,600.0 | 3,200 | 2.1 |
| Chad | 1,500.0 | | 1.5 |
| Equatorial Guinea | 1,100.0 | 1,300 | 1.3 |
| Uganda | 1,000.0 | 500 | 1.1 |
| Cameroon | 200.0 | 4,770 | 1.0 |
| Tunisia | 425.0 | 2,300 | 0.8 |
| Ghana | 660.0 | 800 | 0.8 |
| Mozambique | | 4,500 | 0.8 |
| Namibia | | 2,200 | 0.4 |
| Rwanda | | 2,000 | 0.3 |
| Cote d'Ivoire | 100.0 | 1,000 | 0.3 |
| Mauritania | 100.0 | 1,000 | 0.3 |
Democratic Republic
of Congo (DRC) | 180.0 | 35 | 0.2 |
| Ethiopia | 0.4 | 880 | 0.1 |
| Tanzania | | 230 | * |
| Somalia | | 200 | * |
| South Africa | 15.0 | | * |
| Benin | 8.0 | 40 | * |
| Morocco | 0.7 | 51 | * |
| Total | 123,609 | 517,706 | 210 |
* Less than 50 million boe
Source: Oil & Gas Journal
African oil and gas production
Source: US Department of Energy, Oil & Gas Journal,and Ernst & Young estimates
The conventional forecasts see African oil supply growth continuing over the next 25 years, albeit more slowly than it has recently — with forecasted ranges of growth over the period of between 0.5 million and 2.0 million b/d.
African natural gas supply has similarly grown in the recent decade, and forecasts of supply growth are dramatically stronger than for oil, with supply possibly doubling to about 15 tcf by 2035.1
1US Department of Energy/Energy Information Administration, international energy database, accessed 15 February 2011; International Energy Agency, World Energy Outlook 2010, November 2010; and US Department of Energy/Energy Information Administration, International Energy Outlook 2010, July 2010.
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