Oil & Energy

Gas Reserves Hit 215 Trillion Cubic Feet

Published

1 hour ago

October 26, 2026

Nigeria’s proven gas reserves have risen from 208.83 trillion cubic feet (tcf) in 2023 to 215.19 tcf as of January 2026, while average daily production has increased to about 7.5 billion cubic feet.

The Decade of Gas Secretariat disclosed this during a media engagement programme organised in collaboration with the Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas and Electric Vehicles (PI-CNG & EV), in Kano, at the weekend.

The engagement, being the first formal with journalists in Kano, following similar sessions held in Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt, brought together 27 journalists from television, radio, print and digital platforms, and targeted at deepening understanding of Nigeria’s gas development agenda and promoting informed reporting of the sector.

Speaking on milestones recorded under the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, the Workstream Lead for Infrastructure and Demand at the Decade of Gas Secretariat, Taofeek Balogun, said domestic gas supply had now exceeded two billion cubic feet per day.

“Significant achievements have been recorded under the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, with proven gas reserves increasing and production rising steadily,” Balogun said.

He disclosed that $3.5 billion in committed investments had been secured across four major gas projects, with 100 per cent completion of the OB3 Gas Pipeline and about 95 per cent completion of the AKK Gas Pipeline.

According to him, N671 billion in public infrastructure funding had attracted approximately N1.6 trillion in private investment into the sector.

On clean cooking, Balogun said the LPG Programme targeting five million households by 2030 had commenced, with launches in Bayelsa and Akwa Ibom states and the distribution of 27,000 LPG cylinders, alongside ongoing regional sensitisation programmes.

He added that Nigeria was targeting September 24, 2028, for transition to a Willing Buyer, Willing Seller gas market framework to strengthen competitiveness, transparency and commercial sustainability.

Oil & Energy

S&P Global Warns Hormuz Energy Shock Could Become A Global Food Crisis

Published

1 hour ago

October 26, 2026

The Tide

The world’s ongoing energy crisis is quickly turning into a global food security crisis. Ongoing conflict between some of the world’s most prominent economies on two major fronts – Russia’s war in Ukraine and the United States’ and Israel’s war in Iran – is creating geopolitical shockwaves through critical global trade routes and threatening some of humanity’s most essential commodities, from oil and gas to grain and fertilizer.

A “multidirectional squeeze on world agriculture” is taking form, according to a new ‘thought leadership report’ by the S&P Global Institute, published on Monday. “Global food prices are impacted in two ways: diesel is an important input cost for farmers, and farmers may direct acreage away from food production to feedstock for biofuels,” the report explains.

Before the United States and Israel began their military offensive in Iran in February of this year, one half of all the world’s fertilizer feedstock exports passed through the Strait of Hormuz. Chemicals including urea, ammonia, sulfur, hydrogen, natural gas, and nitrogen are critical components in nitrogen-based fertilizer, which serves as a foundational input for sustaining global food security in today’s agrifood systems.

In particular, the cultivation of staple crops like corn, wheat, and rice, which are almost entirely grown in industrialized monocropping systems, is severely dependent on chemical fertilizers to meet production needs. This means that, if global fertilizer supply chains are compromised, half of the world’s calories are at risk. After the Strait of Hormuz closed to nearly all shipping traffic on February 28, fertilizer prices surged enormously, rapidly doubling their previous levels.

“The disruption of the Strait of Hormuz can push 45 million more people into hunger and starvation,” the United Nations’ Jorge Moreira da Silva said back in April. “So, clearly, we need to do something.” But now, six months later, the threat of hunger still looms large.

While the Strait is no longer at a standstill, the control of the waterway is still contentious and highly precarious, with violence and disruption quickly setting in as the ‘new normal’ in the vital trade artery. And even if the United States and Iran maintain their extremely fragile agreements, fertilizer production won’t bounce back overnight. “Fertilizer companies will still have to wait for natural gas production in the Gulf to ramp up to regain their feedstock supply, which will take months or even years,” reports Semafor, a nonpartisan news outlet.

The International Monetary Fund’s World Economic Outlook projects an overall 10 percent increase in fertilizer prices by the end of this year, contributing a 5 percent hike in food costs in 2026 and another 2.4 percent in 2027, with variation by region. As usual, it is the poorest countries that will be hit the hardest.

“The compounding effect of higher energy and fertilizer costs, resilient biofuel-linked demand and El Niño-related weather risk puts pressure on food prices and, ultimately, food security,” the S&P Global report concludes. “The risk is increasing, especially for low-income countries, where food costs amount to about half of household spending.”

While a global food crisis is not a certainty, pressure on cash-strapped consumers is – with grave consequences for the global poor. If enough of the global population cannot afford to eat, this could, in turn, result in more conflict. Historically, food price shocks and inflation of prices for food staples is a key driver of conflict. Many experts believe that the Arab Spring, for example, was a direct result of rising food costs across the region. Adding food inflation and rising hunger rates to an already tumultuous geopolitical climate could fan the flames of conflict and civil unrest in the coming months.

By Haley Zaremba

Oil & Energy

NCDMB, Manufacturers Commit To Scale Up Local Oil And Gas Production Components

Published

1 hour ago

October 26, 2026

The Tide

The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has restated its commitment to scale up production of local oil and gas components, in direct partnership with in- country manufacturers.

Recall that on July 7, 2022, the NCDMB commissioned a diverse oil industry team to develop a strategy for in-country manufacturing of pumps, valves, flanges, gaskets, bolts and nuts, metering solutions, and instrument fittings, and the team submitted its report on July 12, 2023.

The study was initiated after local manufacturing of these components was identified as essential to advancing Nigerian content, given their significant role in sustaining oil and gas production uptime and their substantial share of both operating and capital expenditures.

In a stakeholders’ meeting held in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, to define practical strategies for implementing the report, aimed at expanding local manufacturing capacity, empowering indigenous enterprises, and reducing reliance on imported component, the Executive Secretary, NCDMB, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, underscored the Board’s drive to deepen local capacity, promote industrialisation, and maximise value retention in the Nigerian oil and gas industry.

Represented by the General Manager, Institutional Development, Capacity Building Directorate, Olugbenga Sheba,
Ogbe emphasised that developing the capacity to manufacture critical industry components within the country would not only strengthen indigenous enterprises and improve technical competence, but position Nigerian companies to participate more effectively in the supply chains of major oil and gas projects.

He cited the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act, 2010, which provides for first consideration of Nigerian goods and services, reinforcing the statutory basis for promoting indigenous participation and local production.

According to him, the Board remains committed to ensuring that the implementation of the study report’s recommendations is guided by the provisions of the Act and creates greater opportunities for qualified Nigerian companies to thrive.

“Today’s rollout is not an isolated initiative; it is an integral pillar of our NCDMB 10-Year Strategic Roadmap, which targets achieving 70% Nigerian Content by 2027,” he stated.

Ogbe explained that the implementation of the study report would directly advance the technical capability development pillar of the Board’s 10-Year Strategic Roadmap by addressing identified skills gaps, technological deficiencies, and limitations in local manufacturing capacity.

He outlined key areas of focus for the implementation process to include infrastructure expansion, structured capacity-building initiatives, improved access to capital and strategic partnerships, as well as effective monitoring, compliance, and enforcement.

The NCDMB boss urged stakeholders to demonstrate strong commitment to the implementation process, insisting that collaboration among the Board, indigenous manufacturers, operators, service companies, financial institutions, and other industry players remained critical to achieving sustainable results.

In his presentation, Assistant Manager, Institutional Strengthening of the Capacity Building Directorate, Nander Salmwang, disclosed that approximately 60 indigenous companies had been identified in the assessment, with only 18 meeting the required criteria.

Salmwang also highlighted challenges affecting the development and expansion of in-country manufacturing capacity, underscoring the need for targeted interventions to bridge existing gaps.

On his part, the Manager, Nigerian Content Development Fund (NCDF), Emmanuel Yusuf, presented funding opportunities available through the NCDF, explaining the relevance of financial support to indigenous companies and community contractors seeking to strengthen their operations and participate more actively in the industry’s supply chain.

The meeting also highlighted the relevance of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Park Scheme (NOGaPS) in supporting the development of local manufacturing infrastructure and capabilities.

Other presentations and discussions provided a platform for stakeholders to examine existing opportunities, identify implementation challenges, and explore practical approaches to improving indigenous participation in the manufacturing of critical oil and gas equipment and components.

By: Lady Godknows Ogbulu

Oil & Energy

The Diesel Crunch Will Persist Well Into 2027

Published

1 week ago

October 19, 2026

The Tide

The recent rise in crude oil flows out of the Strait of Hormuz isn’t solving the world’s most pressing fuel problem—the diesel crunch and record diesel prices that start to feed into the wider economy.

While Middle East crude oil flows are nearing pre-war levels, global diesel supply is much lower due to refinery constraints in the Middle East and Russia that the rest of the world cannot offset.

The diesel squeeze hiked wholesale and retail prices to record highs in the middle of September as the market realized that crude oil supply does not equal refined product supply, and demand for middle distillates started rising seasonally from agriculture, road freight, and the coming winter.

There isn’t an easy fix to the crunch, neither the G7’s promised release of 100 million barrels of oil, including diesel, nor the controversial Trump-Putin deal for the U.S. to buy Russian diesel.

The global diesel squeeze will end when markets return to some kind of normality, which is months away, at best, and certainly not before the U.S. midterm elections on November 3.

The current crunch in the diesel and gasoil markets is set to extend into the middle of next year, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its monthly Oil Market Report published this week.

Counter-seasonally, gasoil and diesel markets tightened in the third quarter of 2026, amid prolonged disruptions in refinery operations in the Middle East and Russia, the agency noted.

“Combined with much heavier-than-normal inventory declines in 2Q26, this has deprived global gasoil markets of crucial stock cover ahead of the peak winter demand season,” the IEA said.

But the relatively price-inelastic diesel demand has remained strong, supported by government measures aimed at easing the impact of high prices on consumers, according to the agency.

“Falling inventories, soaring cracks, and steepening levels of backwardation have signalled the need for additional supplies,” the IEA said.

Even if refinery throughput recovers rapidly into the end of this year, gasoil supply will fall short of meeting demand this quarter, “suggesting that the replenishment of lost inventories, outside of typical seasonal fluctuations, is unlikely before 2H27.”

Global diesel exports fell by 700,000 barrels per day (bpd) in September from a year earlier, as a 1.3-million-bpd loss from Russia and the Middle East was only partly offset by higher supply from other sources, the IEA has estimated.

“As the Iran war manifests itself through restricted product availability, soaring fuel prices and a deteriorating economic outlook, diesel will register 25%” of the expected 2.6 million bpd decline in global oil demand this year, the agency noted.

Global diesel prices have eased from the all-time highs of more than $200 a barrel reached in September, but diesel benchmarks remain nearly double the price of crude oil and their pre-crisis levels, the IEA said.

While growing volumes of crude oil have moved out of the Persian Gulf and the Middle East in recent weeks, the barrels come at a high cost and high risk, Ole Hansen, Head of Commodity Strategy at Saxo Bank, wrote in an analysis this week.

“Depleted inventories, elevated freight costs and persistent geopolitical risks explain why crude prices have remained stubbornly high despite improving physical flows,” Hansen said.

Related: Europe’s Gas Prices Close to 2022 High as Hormuz LNG Flows Remain Limited

The diesel market, however, is a whole new ball game. Additional crude oil exports cannot ease the reduced refinery output in the Middle East, which was a major diesel and jet fuel supplier before the war.

“While crude shipments have recovered substantially, refined-product exports remain severely constrained,” Hansen said.

“The clearest evidence that the market remains far from normal is the continued strength in refined products, particularly diesel.”

Both U.S. ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) and European gasoil futures moved back to trade above $200 per barrel equivalent this week, “reflecting a shortage that additional crude exports alone cannot resolve,” the strategist said.

This shortage cannot be solved with high crude oil exports. The global energy system needs normalization in all major supply chain components from production to transportation and refining for prices to ease. The oil crisis has now turned into a shipping crisis and a refining bottleneck, which add to the supply squeeze in products and to inflation pressures.

“Record diesel prices are already having broad economic consequences by raising the cost of goods and impacting real incomes, economic activity, and inflation,” the IEA warned in its report.

The diesel price shock is extending from transport through supply chains, analysts at Oxford Economics said earlier this month.

Some of the costs transferred to customers have started to emerge in the U.S. This year has seen a renewed surge in operating-cost pressures for U.S. trucking, driven overwhelmingly by diesel, while freight trucking producer prices have also begun to rise, Oxford Economics says.

“This suggests carriers are passing at least part of the fuel shock onto customers rather than absorbing it entirely through margins, shifting some of the burden toward the freight-intensive industries.”

U.S. inflation accelerated in September, with the consumer price index up by 3.7% from a year earlier and 0.6% compared to August, the last inflation numbers before the midterms showed on Wednesday.

“The index for gasoline rose 9.1 percent in September, accounting for over half of the monthly all-items increase. The energy index increased 5.2 percent over the month following a 2.1-percent increase in August,” the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said.

By Tsvetana Paraskova