NNPC begins oil exploration in Sokoto, Bida, Benue, others

By Etuka Sunday

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has concluded plans to increase the nation’s crude oil reserve and production to 40 billion and four million barrels per day respectively.

The Group Managing Director of the corporation, Engr. Andrew Yakubu who made this disclosure while delivering a keynote address at the combined graduation ceremony of Chief Officers Management Development programme of batches 069 to 072 in Abuja listed Chad, Anambra, Benue, Bida and Sokoto Dahomey as the focal places.

Engr. Yakubu said, “We are as well carrying out infield developments which have resulted in increased reserve and with the intensified approach, including the expedited action on new projects like Eginaetc the reserve and production targets is realizable.” According to him, over 1,000 square kilometres of seismic data have been acquired in the Chad Basin despite of the security situation in Borno State.

On gas consumption, he said, “NNPC’s footprint in the domestic gas market has attained unprecedented growth. With the commissioning of the NPDC’s 100 million standard cubic feet of gas per day Oredo gas processing facilities and the acquisition of the new assets, NPDC is now the biggest producer and supplier of gas into the domestic market, contributing over 400 million standard cubic feet of gas per day,” Yakubu added.

He said the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company, NPDC, is being repositioned to become a medium sized independent Exploration and Production Company with a production capacity of at least 250,000 barrels per day by the year 2015.

According to him, NPDC assets base has grown with the assignment of new oil mining leases stressing that the management under his watch is determined to further pursue new strategies to grow production to the target of 250,000 bpd by 2015 from the current level of 130,000bpd.