Buhari celebrates oil discovery, reserves in N/East
President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday inaugurated the Kolmani Integrated Development Project at the Kolmani River II Oil Field, located in a border community between Bauchi and Gombe States.
Buhari expressed joy over the discovery of over one billion barrels of oil reserves and 500 billion cubic feet of gas within the Kolmani area, as well as the huge potential for more deposits as exploration efforts intensified.
Supreme reports that the President, accompanied by some governors and other cabinet members, performed the official ground-breaking ceremony for Oil Prospecting Leases (OPLs) 809 and 810 at the Kolmani River II Well.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, in October 2019, announced the discovery of crude oil, gas, and condensate in the Kolmani River.
The oil field would be developed by Sterling Global Oil, the New Nigeria Development Commission (NNDC), and the NNPC Limited.
The President said the discovery emanated from the charge to the NNPC to re-strategize and expand its oil and gas exploration footprints to the frontiers of the Benue Trough and Chad Basin, including Anambra, Dahomey, Sokoto, and Bida.
The president said similar activities across the other basins were currently on-going.
"Today is important in the economic history of our nation as we move closer to the production of oil and gas in the Upper Benue Trough, specifically the Kolmani River Oil and Gas Field, straddling Bauchi and Gombe States.
"This is indeed significant considering that efforts to find commercial oil and gas outside the established Niger Delta Basin were attempted for many years without the desired outcomes."
"However, the successful discovery of the Kolmani Oil and Gas field by NNPC and her partners has finally broken the jinx record with the confirmation of huge commercial deposits of hydrocarbons in the Kolmani River field," he said.
He said the discovery had attracted investment for an end-to-end integrated development and monetisation of the hydrocarbon resources.
According to him, it is a fully integrated in-situ development project comprising upstream production, oil refining, power generation, and fertiliser. The project, he added, promised many benefits for the nation.
He listed the benefits, including but not limited to energy security, financial security, food security, and overall socio-economic development for the country.
He noted that, considering the landlocked location and the huge capital requirement, the economics of the project were a challenging proposition.
"Consequently, from the onset, I instructed NNPC Limited to utilize and leverage its vast asset portfolio across all corridors of its operations to de-risk the project and attract the much-needed investment.
"I have directed NNPC to continue along these lines.
"It is therefore to the credit of this administration that at a time when there is near zero appetite for investment in fossil energy, coupled with the location challenges, we are able to attract investment of over three billion dollars to the project."
"This will surely be a reference subject for favorable discussion in the industry as we pursue the just energy transition program that will culminate in our country achieving Net Zero by the year 2060," he said.
Buhari said he had engaged the governors of Bauchi and Gombe States, Bala Mohammed and Inuwa Yahaya, who had expressed assurances of their unwavering commitment to ensure support and cooperation in these localities as this activity affects the local populations.
The President urged the NNPC Ltd., the NNDC, and their strategic partners to ensure all lessons learned from our years of experience as an oil-producing nation are utilized to ensure a harmonious relationship with the local communities.
Supreme reports that the event was attended by APC Presidential Candidate Sen. Bola Ahmed Tinubu, APC National Chairman Sen. Abdullahi Adamu, Minister of Digital Economy Dr. Ali Isa Pantami, NNPC Group Chief Executive Officer MalamMele Kyari, and other top government officials, among others.
