(Ecofin Agency) - The Group Managing Director of NNPC, Maikanti Baru (photo) has announced that the country’s oil and gas reserves which had fallen at the height of militant attacks on infrastructures has increased.

The nation’s crude oil reserves, which had plummeted to 28.2 billion barrels has now risen back to 37 billion barrels.

Nigeria now boasts of oil reserves of 37 billion barrels, a figure corresponding to the volume given in the 2016 BP Statistical Review of World Energy, 37.1 billion barrels. BP puts the country’s gas reserves at 5.1 tcf (180.5 tcf), the Oil and Gas Year reports.

According to Baru, the relative calmness in Niger Delta had contributed to the increase in reserves to 192 tcf.

He added that the NNPC has put in place, security management platforms that would allow it to identify and assess risks, develop and supervise the execution of investigations, aggregate and deploy necessary resources to enable a peaceful business environment in the Niger Delta region.

Anita Fatunji