The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited on Friday announced the discovery of oil in Nasarawa State and said it was set to drill the first foot of an oil well in the Northern state.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has announced plans to drill the first oil well in Nasarawa State, North Central Nigeria in March this year in continuation of its oil exploration activities in the country’s inland basins.
It said the discovery was in continuation of its oil exploration activities in the country’s inland basins, adding that it would spud the first oil well in Nasarawa State in March 2023.
On January 5, 2023, The Media reported that NNPC was prospecting for crude oil in more locations across the north, after discovering the commodity in Bauchi and Gombe states.
The report stated that NNPC was taking coordinated steps for more frontier exploration in the region, as part of measures to shore up the country’s oil output and reserves.
Mele Kyari,
The company had disclosed this in a document on the frontier exploration services activities of the NNPC from 2020 to 2022, as outlined some prospective states where oil was expected to be discovered include Niger, Nasarawa, Sokoto, Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Bauchi, and Gombe.
Beyond the North, the Anambra basin was listed as another area where the NNPC was striving to find more oil.
Prospecting is the first stage in discovering the oil and gas fields, under which seismic surveys are carried out.
On Friday, NNPC’s Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari, announced the oil discovery and the planned spud-in when the Governor of the state, Abdullahi Sule, led a delegation of prominent indigenes on a courtesy visit to NNPC in Abuja.
Kyari, in a statement issued in Abuja by the corporation’s spokesperson, Garba-Deen Mohammad, said the results of exploratory activities confirmed the presence of substantial hydrocarbon resources in the state.
“This work must be done very fast because the whole world is walking away from fossil fuel due to energy transition, the earlier you go to market, the better for you,” Kyari stated.
He added, “Otherwise, 10 years from now, no one will agree to put money in the petroleum business except it comes from your cash flow.”
He said community support and a conducive environment were key to a successful operation in the area, in order to avoid the experience of the Niger Delta.
In his response, Governor Sule congratulated the GCEO on the successful commencement of oil production and the Kolmani Integrated Development Project which was launched in November 2022 by President Muhammadu Buhari, which he described as similar to what obtains in Saudi Arabia.
“I want to congratulate you, the management of NNPCL and the federal government for what you have done at Kolmani, for those who don’t know what you have done for Nigeria, you have written your name in gold,’’ Governor Sule stated.
He commended President Muhammadu Buhari for his support while assuring the NNPCL of a conducive environment.
