Oil exploration in the North yields positive results as NNPC gears up

 The quest for oil in the Lake Chad Basin area of Northern Nigeria is alive and well. And the prospects seem quite bright indeed, from emerging data seen by a re­porter.   The emerging facts indicate that a total of 23 oil wells have already been drilled by pros­pecting oil companies that have engaged in oil exploration in the North in the past 30 years.  

While 21 of these wells are said to hold some prospects of oil in commercial quantity, only two of the wells reportedly hit a dry run. Findings indicate that the search for oil in the North has, so far, gulped a whopping sum of about N27 billion and $340 million respectively.  

The Nigerian National Pe­troleum Corporation (NNPC) is reportedly gearing up to pump more money into the quest – in compliance with the recent Presidential directive to resume oil exploration in the North.   A recent document pre­pared by the NNPC, dated Oc­tober 7, 2016 and marked “up-date” on the oil exploration activities in the Lake Chad Ba­sin, seen by The AUTHORITY, also revealed that 33,550 sq km of 3-D seismic data would soon be acquired for processing, in an effort to get a clearer picture of oil reserves in the area.   The drills and finds are from the oil bloc 809, which is being held by the Nigerian Na­tional Development Company (NNDC) a subsidiary of NNPC, vested with the duties of explo­ration and investment.   But the tone of the report shows that the prospects of oil in the North are still mere po­tentials and remain in the realm of possibilities, despite the huge investments made so far.   The document states: “Though it is too early to be categorical, there is a possibility that we may find oil in commer­cial quantity in the Chad Basin because of deposits in neigh­bouring countries of Chad, Ni­ger and Sudan which have sim­ilar structural settings with the Chad Basin. Therefore it is pru­dent to aggressively explore the Chad Basin for possible depos­its.”