NNPC Steps Up Oil Exploration In Chad, Benue Basins

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation said it had stepped up its exploration of crude oil in the Chad Basin, Benue Trough and other frontier basins.

It said the crude oil to be drilled from the frontier basins would serve as reserves for Nigeria.

The corporation expressed its readiness to partner stakeholders in the oil and gas industry to grow the nation’s fast depleting external reserves in order to increase productivity in the petroleum sector.

Between July and August, the NNPC received express orders from President Muhammadu Buhari to explore for oil in the North.

The President had directed the national oil firm to commence exploration activities in the Benue Trough. The Benue Trough is a major geological formation underlying a large part of Nigeria, extending about 1,000km North-East from the Bight of Benin to Lake Chad.

The President had earlier directed the corporation to speed up its prospect for oil in the region, specifically in the Chad Basin and Kolmani River, following the reported discovery of hydrocarbons by Shell in the area.

In a statement on Monday, the Group Managing Director, NNPC, Dr. Maikanti Baru, said that the corporation was making progress on the exploration efforts in the Chad Basin, Benue trough and other frontier basins so as to shore up the reserve base of Nigeria.

He was quoted to have said that “some of our earlier drilled non-commercial holes could be turned around if we deploy requisite technologies. We need to change our perspective of risk as technology is advancing.”