Sweeping Reform Attempt Could Shake Up Nigeria’s Oil Industry

---

Nigeria is Africa’s largest oil-producing state, producing more than 2 million barrels per day of light crude. With proven oil reserves of 37.2 billion barrels (along with undeveloped natural gas reserves of 5,200 billion cubic meters), Nigeria can sustain this daily volume of production for many years to come. But the country’s oil and natural gas sector has been rife with corruption, burdened by decaying infrastructure and inadequate refining capacity and vulnerable to militant violence. While the latter appears under control for the time being, the former have yet to be fully addressed. Any attempt to reform the industry would affect output projections, and thus is an important development not only for Nigeria but also for international oil and natural gas markets.