The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, announced that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) will resume oil exploration in the Lake Chad area.
The Minister disclosed this on Thursday while speaking with Army Chiefs at the Chad Basin in Borno.
It would be recalled that oil search in the Chad Basin was suspended after a team of NNPC Frontier Exploration Services and their consultants from the University of Maiduguri were attacked and some of them abducted on July 25, 2017.
The NNPC’s search for oil in the North is not recent. Nairametrics reported in 2019 that the NNPC restated its commitment to recommence oil exploration activities in the Lake Chad Basin once security clearance was approved for the exploration company.
It was reported in 2019 that the NNPC discovered crude oil, gas and condensates in the Kolmani River region at the border community between Bauchi and Gombe States.
The Minister thanked the Army for fighting insurgency in the area, which has made the possibility for oil exploration feasible in the area as peace returns.
“The reason why we came here is to first and foremost thank the Chief of Army Staff and the Nigerian Army for the great job they have continued to perform in the North East.
“We believe that without their gallant activities here, we in Abuja will not also be living safely, neither will we be living safely anywhere in the world.
“Having thanked them, we also want to commence exploration and drilling activities here, because we believe that there is relative peace in this area enough for us to continue drilling activities in the North East,” Sylva said.
The Minister disclosed that NNPC found oil in Gombe last year and believes there are a lot more deposits to be found in Chad Basin.
“As you may well know, we have found oil in Gombe and we believe that there is a lot of oil to be found in the Chad Basin. We have seen a lot of prospects in the Chad Basin and we want to commence exploration and drilling activities.
“That is why we are collaborating with the Nigeria Army to ensure that security is provided for activities to commence very soon,” he said.
