NNPC to resume oil exploration in Sokoto Basin

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has announced plans to resume active crude oil exploration in Sokoto Basin.

Mele Kyari, group managing director (GMD) of NNPC, said this while receiving Atiku Bagudu, governor of Kebbi, at the corporation’s head office in Abuja on Thursday.

The federal government had set a new target to raise Nigeria’s oil reserves to 40 billion barrels by 2025, it also planned to increase gas reserve to 210 trillion cubic feet (tcf) by 2025 and 220tcf by 2030.

In September 2017, NNPC announced that it has started the process that would lead to the exploration of oil and gas in Sokoto Basin.

However, it suspended the planned exploration activities in the region due to insecurity issues.

NNPC had said it would only resume the activities if it gets sufficient security clearance guaranteeing the safety of its personnel and operations.

Also in June 2020, Abubakar Sani Bello, governor of Niger state, said: “Efforts in the search of the availability of commercial quantity of hydrocarbon have heightened in the Frontier Basins as Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is set to acquire 600 km of Two-Dimensional (2D) data to evaluate the potentials of Bida and Sokoto Basins.”

Similarly, NNPC renewed its partnership with Kebbi towards the development of renewable energy and biofuels.

Kyari said NNPC was committed to the global transition development to renewable energy.

He said the rice production programme in Kebbi would be vital to actualising the scheme and boosting economic development in the area.

“We will go ahead and renew the Memorandum of Understanding and bring in any necessary amendment that is required to make this business run fast,” the GMD said.

In his remarks, Bagudu expressed appreciation to NNPC for its cooperation on the biofuel project and assured Kyari of the state government’s commitment to the success of the project.