NNPC To Accelerate Oil Exploration In Chad Basin

Baru said President Muhammadu Buhari, had directed that the oil exploration process in the region be sped up and the corporation’s Frontier Exploration Services had been retooled to commence in collaboration with the Northern Nigeria Development Company (NNDC), which was already prospecting for oil within the basin.

The GMD revealed that the president had asked the corporation to explore the magnitude and prospects of the reported indicative discovery of hydrocarbons by Royal Dutch Oil Company and Shell in the Chad Basin and Kolmani River and also explained that the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) had been intimated on the need to assign blocks in the basin for prospective investors to take up.

He said:“I thank you for your support for me to deliver in this turbulent waters and, definitely, we are committed to collaborate with you and other state governors to drive all the initiatives that will fulfil the national aspirations as expected from my industry, especially energy security.”

“Very close home, we have exploration activities on the frontier basin; that is, in the Chad, and also there is some area close to the Kolmani River where Shell had made indicative discovery of hydrocarbons and Mr President has directed me to go into that area to reprove and further explore the magnitude and prospects of those finds.

“We are taking steps to re-strategise and get into those regions. We will reinvigorate the Frontier Exploration and see how they collaborate with NNDC that is holding Block 809 where some of the finds have been found and also DPR for the other blocks that have not been assigned and work towards proving the prospects of that region,” the managing director stated.

He however decried the problem of vandalism of petroleum infrastructure, and called on the governor to help the corporation in protecting and securing the infrastructure with the necessary security surveillance to ensure that vandalism are checked.