The Growth of Nigeria’s Oil Economy

Ambit Energy Corporation
Image: ambitenergycorp.com

Nigeria is currently Africa’s largest oil producer, laying claim to the 11th-largest quantity of oil reserves in the world, drawing investors like the Ambit Energy Corporation to build and expand Nigeria’s energy industry. The Nigerian government has regulations and limitations in place to favor indigenous oil companies over international ones, though the Ambit Energy Corporation, founded and owned by a dual Nigerian-Canadian citizen, has the unique opportunity to bypass many of these restrictions while still benefiting from its international presence.

Nigeria’s oil industry began in 1956 when oil was found in the Niger Delta after a half-century of exploration. Two years later, Nigeria’s first oil field began operations under the control of Shell-BP, with other foreign companies allowed to join in their own explorations after 1960.

The Nigerian civil war that began in 1967 concluded in 1970 as the world’s petroleum prices rose, and Nigeria saw the profits from its oil sharply rise. Just prior to this, Nigeria’s Petroleum Act established exclusive control over its oil resources. Nigeria’s state-owned oil company, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, was formed in 1977.

Throughout the following decades, Nigeria would increasingly pass regulations to keep profits as close to the Nigerian people as possible. Oil exports, worth nearly $42 billion in 2015, now constitute approximately 90 percent of Nigeria’s gross earnings, overtaking the formerly dominant agricultural industry. These numbers could grow substantially higher over the next several years, as Nigeria looks to establish the infrastructure needed to harness its considerable natural gas resources.

Oil Producer Looks to Demonstrate New Business Model in Africa

Ambit Energy Corporation
Image: ambitenergycorp.com

Ambit Energy Corporation is currently working to expand oil operations throughout West Africa, using the oil fields of Nigeria as a foundation for its own unique business model. This model is built not only on the prior expertise of Ambit Energy Corporation’s CEO and founder Tunde Agbi, but also on his dual Canadian-Nigerian citizenship.

Mr. Agbi’s citizenship status allows his company to headquarter itself in Canada while also being exempt from many restrictions imposed by Nigeria on its oil exports. As a result of these connections, Ambit promises not only to double the returns on shareholder investments compared to its competitors, but to develop strong ties with a key exporter, which can expand into resource opportunities with other potential partners in the region.

Mr. Agbi has already demonstrated his ability to change the landscape of oil production. Under his leadership, Ambit Energy Corporation is prepared to establish a new standard for African oil production.

Nigeria Increases Global Economic Presence Through Oil Exports

Nigeria

Africa is already well-known for its precious metals and stones, but it may also be well-known soon for its oil. Oil producers such as Ambit Energy Corporation are looking to expand Africa’s economic presence by establishing relationships with its oil-rich nations, and Nigeria is one such nation. Its unique relationship with Ambit Energy Corporation will help to accelerate its growing involvement with the global economy.

Since the discovery of local oil deposits in 1956, Nigeria has gradually increased its trade income through oil exports. At present, roughly thirty-five percent of Nigeria’s domestic product comes through oil, placing it as Nigeria’s second most valuable resource after agriculture.

For its own protection, Nigeria instituted trade laws that limit exports and require foreign oil producers to fully finance themselves. Ambit Energy Corporation, founded and operated by dual Canadian-Nigerian citizen Tunde Agbi, is allowed to circumvent these restrictions, speeding Nigeria’s growth while promising shareholders that it can deliver an investment return twice that of leading competitors.

The Oil Economy Influence on Nigerian History

Ambit Energy Corporation
Image: ambitenergycorp.com

 

Ambit Energy Corporation explores for oil and gas primarily in parts of West Africa. In fact, Ambit Energy Corporation’s initial operations focus on Nigeria because that nation has a particularly resource-rich region called the Niger Delta Basin.

The history of Nigerian oil is fairly short, beginning in the mid-1950s when explorers discovered vast and untouched resources sitting beneath the Niger Delta. Within a few years, foreign investors had begun developing the oil there, with the first field in the country producing more than 5,000 barrels per day. Development continued over the following decade. Nigeria’s crude oil capacity expanded to more than two million barrels daily. During the next 40 years, the Nigerian oil economy gradually grew its production base. By 2010, the nation’s output exceeded four million barrels daily.

Since then, the oil economy has flourished. It accounts for 90 percent of Nigeria’s gross earnings, almost totally displacing the old agrarian economy. Presently, the country stands among the top-13 oil producers. In terms of oil reserves, it stands among the top 10.

Oil Exploration to Start in Chad Basin in Nigeria

Ambit Energy Corporation
Image: ambitenergycorp.com

Based in Canada, Ambit Energy Corporation maintains offices in Nigeria and the UK as an oil and gas exploration and production (E&P) company focusing its efforts in West Africa. Ambit Energy Corporation initially targeted the well-known Niger Delta Basin in Nigeria.

In a recent news release, Reuters reported that Nigeria hopes to find oil in the Chad Basin, which is in the northeastern region of the country. The state oil company is planning to launch exploratory drilling projects in the last quarter of 2016.

A spokesman from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) explained that exploration in the Chad Basin is designed to capitalize on hydrocarbon prospects in the Nigerian inland basin, provide new investment opportunities, create jobs, and stimulate the economy.

According to Nigeria’s minister of state for oil and the chief of NNPC, Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, seismic studies are still ongoing in the region. The country’s oil leader alerted the public in 2015 that it was investigating a potentially significant oil find in the Chad Basin.

Energy – Natural Gas

Ambit Energy Corporation
Image: ambitenergycorp.com

Ambit Energy Corporation, an oil and natural gas exploration firm based in Canada, focuses on natural resource extraction initiatives in West Africa. Ambit Energy Corporation’s initial project aims to discover and extract oil and gas from the Niger Delta Basin.

Among the most important sources of energy used throughout the world, natural gas is composed of a variety of hydrocarbons that can be burned to generate electricity and heat as well as power cars. To gain access to natural gas, companies must free it from the confines of rock reservoirs that trap it underground. They can do so by drilling and by relying on innovative hydraulic fracturing solutions.

There are a number of benefits to relying on natural gas over other petroleum resources. For example, natural gas has lower harmful emissions of compounds like carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide than alternative fuels like gasoline.

Some countries with high natural gas production rates relative to other countries in their regions include the United States, Russia, China, Iran, and Nigeria.

Nigerian Oil Companies Require Foreign Investment

Ambit Energy Corporation
Image: ambitenergycorp.com

Ambit Energy Corporation is an international oil and gas company headquartered in Calgary, Canada, with offices in Nigeria. The corporate entities and structure created by Ambit Energy Corporation are designed to fit the goals of the Nigerian government’s indigenization program.

In 1990, the Nigerian government established the Indigenous Concession Program (ICP), which set new rules favoring the awarding of oil rights to local oil companies. Foreign equity holding of marginal fields is limited to 40 percent, and foreign partners face stringent project financing demands.

Nigerian government policies are intended to repatriate the oil and gas industry from foreign ownership and allow local companies to monetize natural resources. However, marginal oil fields of the Niger Delta are often found in challenging terrain that requires advanced oil recovery techniques. This results in oil and gas that is costly to produce and requires extensive technical savvy.

The government is making effort to fast-track the infrastructure and technological and managerial know-how for the country to take advantage of its gas and oil reserves. Recent policies in Nigeria, while limiting foreign operation, still leave room for foreign investment in terms of financing and technical assistance. The government believes that carving out a certain percentage of participation in the industry by local oil companies, combined with Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), will allow local companies to become more competent in their operations.

How Geoscientists Identify Buried Oil and Gas Reserves

Ambit Energy Corporation
Image: ambitenergycorp.com

Headquartered in Canada, Ambit Energy Corporation also maintains offices in the United Kingdom and Nigeria. Ambit Energy Corporation relies on the expertise of geoscientists to carry out its oil and gas explorations.

Geoscientists dedicate their careers to exploring the earth’s natural processes. Many are employed by companies in the oil and gas industry to gather field and laboratory data essential for identifying buried reserves.

To locate trapped oil and gas, geoscientists look for source rock that contains organic matter that has been compressed to emit hydrocarbons and heated to a level causing the release of oil and gas. Source rock made of coal is ideal because it releases the most natural gas. Geoscientists also look for porous and permeable reservoir rock that have a cap rock. A cap rock, such as impermeable clay or salt deposit, has the ability to store hydrocarbons within reservoir rocks. In the same respect, rocks must contain a trap to seal in oil and gas. In identifying these factors, geoscientists can advise exploration companies on exact locations to drill boreholes to extract oils and gases.

A Look at Conventional and Unconventional Natural Gas

Ambit Energy Corporation
Image: ambitenergycorp.com

Ambit Energy Corporation is a firm based out of Calgary, Canada which aims to be a competitive company in the West African energy sector. With interests in the Niger Delta Basin, Ambit Energy Corporation focuses on crude oil and natural gas exploration.

Natural gas is a fossil fuel commonly used for heating and for powering vehicles. Depending on where it is discovered and how it is harvested, natural gas can either fall into the category of conventional or unconventional. Natural gas is considered conventional if it is trapped beneath rock near enough to the earth’s surface that it can be extracted through traditional well-drilling methods.

Unconventional natural gas occurs when the ability to extract the resource is hindered by its location in the earth. Deep natural gas is considered to be unconventional because it rests at 15,000 feet or more below ground. Likewise, shale is considered to be an unconventional natural gas because it requires the use of high-pressure hydraulic fracturing to break through the uncharacteristically hard stone that encases it. Another unconventional type, coalbed methane, is a natural gas only found around coal seams in the earth.

Analysts Cite West Africa as Top Prospect for Energy Investment

Ambit Energy Corporation
Image: ambitenergycorp.com

Formed in 2005 by energy industry veteran Tunde Agbi, Ambit Energy Corporation pursues high-potential opportunities in the oil and gas sector in Nigeria. Building on his legacy of success in Canadian and international energy markets, Tunde Agbi aims to establish Ambit Energy Corporation as a major player in the growing West African energy industry. According to consulting firm KPMG, oil and gas account for nearly 60 percent of Africa’s earnings from exports, with West and North Africa standing out as the continent’s top producers.

While North Africa has the largest known oil and gas reserves on the continent, energy industry experts cite political and economic instability as key factors standing in the way of the region meeting its potential in the near future. For investors, West Africa has the highest prospects of near-term success, in part due to current offshore exploration prospects. In addition, Nigeria holds the most natural gas reserves on the continent, with potential reserves of 16.8 trillion square meters. To take advantage of this massive natural gas potential, the Nigerian oil and gas industry needs additional investments in infrastructure.

Despite opportunities in other regions, industry experts expect West Africa to be the primary recipient of investment dollars if oil prices stay low. To maximize the potential of their investments in West Africa, investors can partner with energy firms that have a sound exploration and production strategies, along with proven success on prior projects in the region.