NNPC resumes oil drilling campaign in Chad Basin

From Abubakar Yunusa, Abuja

After over two decades, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) has resumed an oil drilling campaign at the Wadi-B well located in Jere LGA of Borno State.
President Muhammadu Buhari flagged off the Wadi-B campaign at a ceremony held on Tuesday in the state.
The landmark event marked the commencement of oil exploration in the Lake Chad Basin, in the Tuba community of the state, since 1995.
The new drilling is part of the prospects for oil and gas deposits in Nigeria’s frontier basins.
President Buhari had, in November 2022, flagged off the Kolmani Integrated Development Project (KIPRO) situated on the boundary between Bauchi and Gombe states.
In March 2023, the president also flagged off the spud-in of the Ebenyi-A exploration well located in Obi local government area, Nasarawa state.
Speaking at the event, Mele Kyari, group chief executive officer (GCEO), NNPC Limited, said the re-mobilization of a drilling rig to the Chad Basin “for the first time since 1995, has indeed brought up a new situation for us.”
“We stopped drilling here in 1995 because the successes were weak because our findings were not commercial and we understood very clearly that we need to understand the basin very well. We need to have a different approach to exploration activities in this basin,” he said.
“That is why NNPC and our partner, the ministry of petroleum resources and the current NMDPRA, decided to embark on a massive evaluation of all the frontier basins in the country. And of course, our findings have been useful.
“Our understanding of the rift system in Nigeria enables us to have successful outcome in the Kolmani area. It also enabled us to mobilise to Nasarawa state; a drilling activity and an engagement is ongoing.
“It also helped us to understand the geological setting of the Chad Basin which is why we are back here.
“Now we are much more confident, we believe that this campaign will be successful and that this campaign will take us to the ultimate objective which is to increase the reserves of our country and also create opportunities around us. We believe that the time for oil and gas to vanish is still far away.”
He said the NNPC Limited believes that oil and gas will continue to be principal in determining the prosperity of the country as well as providing energy security.
“And this can’t happen unless we have access to the resources and we are able to convert them into value and of course a new approach to doing this as quickly as is practical which is to do what we are doing in the Kolmani area,” the NNPC boss said.
Also speaking, Babagana Zulum, governor of Borno, said the commencement of oil drilling in the region is a right step in creating more job opportunities in the state.
“Oil prospecting, possible discovery and exploration in this part of the country will no doubt create job opportunities to thousands of our youths thereby reducing unemployment in our state, which in turn results in reduction in the insurgency, stimulating economic growth and development of our dear state and nation in general,” he said.