NIGERIA - Energy Consumption.

Nigeria's energy consumption has more than doubled since 1980, from just 0.42 quadrillion BTU (quads) in 1980 to about 1.01 quads in 2002. By way of comparison, South Africa consumed 4.9 quads in 2001, Egypt consumed 2.4 quads, Algeria consumed 1.42 quads, and Libya consumed 0.70 quads. Oil consumption accounted for the lion's share of Nigeria's total energy use in 2002, making up 61.3%. Natural gas accounted for the bulk of the remainder with 31.8%, with hydropower (6.8%) and coal (0.2%) rounding out the country's fuel mix.

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 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 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.

Nigeria's comparatively low level of energy use vis-...-vis other major African states is borne out in its per capita energy consumption. In 2001, the country's per capita energy consumption stood at 7.8m BTU, a decrease from a high of 8.7m BTU per person registered in 1991 but an increase over the 5.2m BTU per person consumed in 1980. Africa's other major energy producers are all higher per capita consumers, with Egypt's 2001 per capita energy consumption standing at 31.4m BTU, Algeria at 41.2m BTU, and Libya at 120.1m BTU. Much of Nigeria still is not connected to the power grid and electricity supplies are inconsistent.