NIGERIA - Energy Consumption.

Nigeria's energy consumption has more than doubled since 1980, from just 0.42 quadrillion BTU (quads) in 1980 to about 1.13 quads in 2004. By way of comparison, South Africa consumed over 5.9 quads in 2004.

Oil consumption has the lion's share of Nigeria's total energy use, making up almost 62%. Natural gas accounts for the bulk of the remainder, with hydropower (6.8%) and coal (0.2%) rounding out the country's fuel mix. Nigeria is a major consumer of gasoline, with local demand exceeding 190,000 b/d. Until June, when all fluid catalytic crackers had resumed operation to produce 100,000 b/d of this motor fuel, Nigeria used to import 75% of its gasoline needs.

In recent years, natural gas has made inroads in Nigeria, up from 22% of the country's primary energy consumption in the mid-1990s to nearly 32% now. The government is keen to expand natural gas consumption to relieve some of the pressure on forests, which continue to be burned for fuel in many rural areas. The government's plans to end gas flaring will not only reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but will provide more gas for domestic use as well as for export through the West Africa Gas Pipeline. The bulk of Nigeria's non-associated gas production is going towards exports in LNG form (see Gas Market Trends No. 7).

The government is promoting the use of coal for households and industry, as a means of combating deforestation and over-reliance on oil. However, the country has limited coal reserves, much of which are lignite and subbituminous, and Nigeria's coal production - never very high to begin with - has dropped by more than 50% since 1997. Environmentalists are concerned that a renewed emphasis on coal mining will lead to environmental degradation. They fear that using coal as a replacement for oil and fuelwood also will lead to increased carbon emissions.