MAIDUGURI/ Over three years after 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, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Silva, has disclosed that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) will soon resume oil exploration and drilling in the Lake Chad Basin.
Silva disclosed this while speaking to newsmen after an operational meeting on Chad Basin with the Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Tukur Buratai, and top officers and commanders of the Nigerian Army on Thursday, November 5, in Maiduguri. Recall that further exploration activities in the Chad Basin were suspended on July 25, 2017 following the nefarious activities of the insurgents in the region.
Sylva said the decision to recommence exploration activities in the region was borne out of the successes so far recorded by the military in securing the region from the Boko Haram insurgents, commending Buratai and the Nigerian Army for their resilience and gallantry in the quest to liberate the North East from insurgents as well making the entire country safe and secure.
He said the meeting was to solicit the collaboration of the Nigeria army; in ensuring that adequate security was provided for the team of experts that would restart the exploration activities.
“The reason why we came here is to first and foremost thank the Chief of Army Staff; and the Nigeria 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 leaving safely; neither will we be leaving 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.
“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 Nigeria Army; to ensure that security is provided, for activities to commence very soon,” he said.
- Pix: Back to Chad Basin:
L-R: General Manager, Chad Basin, (NNPC), Mr Mohammed S. Ali, Group General Manager, Frontier Exploration Services, (NNPC), Mr. Abdullahi Bomai, NNPC GMD, Mallam Mele Kyari, Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Tukur Buratai, Honorable Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, and General Manager, Security, (NNPC), Mr. Abba Kaka Mohammed, after a meeting with the COAS at Maimalari Cantonment, Maiduguri