Which countries have the largest oil reserves in Africa? They are:
Top 10 Largest Oil Reserves In Africa
#10 Chad
Being the 10th on this list of largest reserves in Africa. It is ranked 37th worldwide with an estimated reserve of 1.5billion barrels and production of over 140,000 barrels per day in 2020.
Petroleum is the country’s main source of income, with over ninety (90) per cent of the country’s petroleum being exported to other parts of the world. China and Exon mobile are only but a few of the stakeholders in the Chad petroleum sector of the African petroleum market.
#9 Congo
Congo is 36th in the world ranking with a reserve of 1.6billion of proven oil reserves and accounting for about 0.1% of the world’s total oil reserves of 1,650,585,140,000 barrels.
Based on the current consumption rate of the country, Congo has over 250 years of oil in its reserves to last for that period of time.
#8 Gabon
Gabon has a reserve of 2 billion and is ranked 35th in the world. Although in recent times, the country’s oil fields have aged, leading to low oil prices.
#7 Uganda
Being the 32nd in the world rank, they have an estimated reserve of about 2.5 billion. Double intake pipelines and a single yet efficient distribution pipeline, along with a total construction bill of more than US$200 million, are being planned in order to bring crude oil to the refinery and also distribute the new finished products to a respective brand new terminal in Buloba.
This terminal can be located on the far west outskirts of Kampala, the Nation’s capital.
#6 Egypt
Placed in twenty-fifth (25th) on the world ranking of countries with the largest oil reserves. This is made possible thanks to its 4.4 billion barrels of sure and tested oil reserves.
This information was made known in 2016, accounting for about 0.3 per cent of the world’s 1.6 trillion barrels of oil reserve. With Egypt’s reserve, they have enough oil to last them in sales for 14 years straight without any new production.
#5 Sudan and South Sudan
Sudan and South Sudan together are said to have a joint reserve of 5 billion barrels and are ranked as 23rd in the world.
#4 Angola
With approximately 8.16 billion barrel reserve it’s ranked because 17th within the world. Angola is sub-Saharan Africa’s second-largest oil producer after Nigeria. About more than 90% of export and 70% of tax revenues come from petroleum.
8.6 billion barrels of proven oil resources and 1.37 million bopd boring (drilling). Almost 75% of Angola’s boring comes from the offshore fields. It produces light-weight sweet petroleum containing low volumes of sulphur a bit like Libya, suitable for processing light refined petroleum products.
The oil-rich ocean floor off the Angolan coast is currently divided into 50 blocks. this is often expected to quite double with the auctioning of the latest blocks from 2019 to 2025.
Despite being a number one oil producer in Sub-Saharan Africa, Angola imports up to 80% of its demand for refined petroleum products from commodity traders like Vitol and Trafigura.
#3 Algeria
Algeria has an oil reserve of 12.2 billion and it is ranked 16th in the world. The minister of petroleum, Muhammad Arkab, told the state radio that Algeria, which is a major gas supplier to Europe and parts of Asia, had an estimated 2.36 billion cubic meters of proven natural gas reserves adding to its 12.2-billion-barrel reserve.
Algeria’s oil and gas output and exports have failed recently due to the growing domestic consumption and a lack of investment by foreign bodies significantly hitting the energy sector earnings, the main source of state finances.
In a bid to turn the trend around, the government late last year approved an energy law offering attractive contract terms including tax incentives to foreign investors. “The aim of this joint venture with major companies is to preserve the share of external markets and increase the production capacity,” Arkab said.
Algeria is also the largest country in Africa in terms of landmass.
#2 NIGERIA
Nigeria holds the 11th position in the world with about 36.97 billion reserves. Although Libya has more reserves than Nigeria, there were 37.2 billion barrels (5.91×109 m3) of proven oil reserves in Nigeria as of 2011.
This makes the country the largest oil producer in Africa and therefore the eleventh largest within the world, averaging 2.28 million barrels per day (362×103 m3/d) in 2006. At current rates, this is able to last for 45 years of supply if no new oil was found.
The ever increasing rate of kidnapping, pipeline vandalism, and militant takeover of oil facilities and theft of infrastructure have reduced oil production, which could have been increased to 3 million barrels per day (480×103 m3/d) in the absence of such chaos.
Nigeria is actually the eighth largest exporter of petroleum worldwide and does not spend 43% of its exports to the Us thanks to the recent shale boom of the US. Nigeria’s exchange is heavily hooked into the oil sector, which accounts for a majority of its export revenues.
#1 LIBYA
Libya is ranked 9th in the world with an oil reserve of about 48.36 billion. They have the largest reserve in Africa. Oil production was 1.65 million barrels per day (262×103 m3/d) as of 2010, giving Libya 77 years of reserves at current production rates if no new reserves were to be found again.
Thanks to the low cost of oil and the fact that their oil is very low in Sulphur content (these types of oil are called sweet crude). It also had relatively cheap oil that was sold for as little as a dollar per barrel, bringing potential investors and brokers.
As a result of disagreements and rifts with foreign oil corporations, most parts of the country have remained unexplored. Libya holds 48,363,000,000 barrels of proven oil reserves as of 2016 and of today, ranking 9th in the world and having an account for about 2.9% of the world’s total oil reserves of 1,650,585,140,000 barrels.
Libya has proven reserves like 594.2 times its annual consumption. This means that, without total Exports, there would be close to 594 years of oil left (this excludes reserves not yet known).
