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By Adewale Sanyaolu
Barring any last-minute changes, President Muhammadu Buhari will Tuesday flag off oil exploration activities in Bauchi and Gombe States.
The President will conduct the ground-breaking ceremony of the Kolmani Oil Prospecting Lease (OPL) 809 and 810 at the Kolmani field site located in Bauchi and Gombe states.
Nigeria currently produces far less than its Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries(OPEC) quota of 2.1 million barrels per day due to hostilities and oil theft in the Niger Delta region.
Efforts for oil search at the Kolmani River-II Well in the Gongola Basin have been ongoing for some years with Geologists being optimistic about discoveries in commercial quantity.
This was even as industry observers lauded the political will of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited(NNPCL) to intensify the search for hydrocarbon resources in the region despite stiff opposition that the search was not worth it.
“The flag off of oil drilling in Kolmani River-11 further lays credence that the NNPCL was right after all in its sustained search for oil in this region. We are happy with the development and wish to congratulate Mr President and his team,’’ said some industry observers.
In July 2019, during an inspection tour of the ongoing drilling operations at the Kolmani River-II Well drilling site in Bauchi and Gombe States, along with his successor, Mr Mele Kyari, late Dr Maikanti Baru, the then Group Managing Director of NNPC had said he could not wait for President Muhammadu Buhari to light the first flame at the area, signifying the potential discovery of hydrocarbons.
He said: “With the level of commitment and dedication I have seen on the part of the exploration team, I cannot wait for Mr President to light the first flame at the area.”
Commenting on the development, Managing Director of Contrac International Services, a firm involved in oilfield survey, Mr Jude Elochukwu, said the move by Buhari, will translate to economic prosperity for the country, saying with the commencement of oil drilling in Kolmani River-11, it is a new dawn for the oil and gas industry.
He said the hope for increased oil production can now be renewed as Nigeria’s oil production was nearly at its knees due to massive oil theft in the Niger Delta region.
Also speaking, Chief Executive Officer of Synergy Oil Drilling Services Limited, Mr Ademola Oladiti, gave kudos to NNPCL, Ministry of Petroleum and other Government agencies for sustaining the search.
He said fresh oil discovery in other parts of the country was long overdue because of the security challenges in the Niger Delta.
He said the commencement of oil drilling in Kolmani River-11 will open a fresh vista of opportunities for young engineers to play their trade, there reducing unemployment.
He said the exploration activities will create room for more job opportunities for young geologists, petroleum engineers, electrical and mechanical engineers.
Oladiti added that the aspiration of the country to grow its oil reserves to about 40 billion barrels may be achieved with this new drilling project.
He lamented that there haven’t been new discoveries in the country for some time because the International Oil Companies(IOCs) were no longer making fresh investments but rather divesting their assets due to myriad of problems in the Nigeria Delta.
Former Director, Centre for Petroleum Economics and Energy Law, University of Ibadan, Prof. Adeola Adenikinju, and publisher, Africa Oil and Gas Report, a magazine focusing on the petroleum sector, Mr Toyin Akinosho, had in an interview with Daily Sun acknowledged the need for more oil fields to be discovered outside the Niger Delta region, considering the security challenges associated with that part of the country.
Akinosho said it was a good idea for the government to make new discoveries through exploration activities because exploration is all about knowledge seeking, and not necessarily about the discovery of oil because it creates a lead to solving other problems.
He explained that in trying to explore for oil, gas could be discovered in the process, and such could be used to generate about 100 megawatts of electricity for that region, which, he said, is a value addition since that was not the original intention.
The president is expected to carry out the historic exercise with the support of the Minister of State for Petroleum, Mr Timipre Sylva and the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), Mallam Mele Kyari, among other industry leaders.
