NNPC to invest between $300m and $500m in oil exploration project in Chad Basin
October 25, 2008 – 12:34 am | by Banjardaily
The Group Managing Director, NNPC, Alhaji Abubakar Yar’Adua, who announced the new attempt on Thursday, when he visited the Governor of Borno State, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, said the corporation would commit between $300m and $500m to the project, which will be undertaken with the newest 3D and 4D technologies in the industry, which he hoped would help find potential deposits.
Yar’Adua told that exploration activities in the Chad Basin would last between 12 to 18 months, adding that available data had shown that commercial quantities of oil and gas would be discovered in the region.
Oil exploration activities in the North have over time taken political and regional colouration, with people from the region accusing successive governments of deliberately refusing to carry out detailed work on prospecting for oil in order to perpetually keep them down.
Yar’ Adua stated that commercial discoveries of oil in neighbouring Niger Republic, Chad and Central African Republic spurred the need to further appraise the Nigerian portion of the Chad Basin and the Benue trough since they were geologically similar.
He added that if the border of Borno State had oil deposits, it was empirical that the wet lands of Bauchi State might also have deposits too.
He said, “We are committed to this assignment. We will do our magnetic survey and the civil survey; we will drill some wells. Of course we do the scanning and other necessary things. We are appealing for your total support, for the citizenry so that this will be carried out peacefully and diligently. We will deploy about 3,000 staff here and basically, I intend to use indigenes of this state.”
According to Yar’Adua, “Exploration activities started in the Chad Basin in 1976 and continued till 1996. During this period, 33,000km of 2-D seismic data was acquired, processed and interpreted.
“Twenty three wells were drilled out of which two of the wells recorded non-commercial gas discoveries (wadi-1 and Kinasar-1). Exploration activity was then suspended in the Chad Basin in 2000 because of lack of commercial discoveries.
“In 2002, the Federal Government directed that the data generated should be analysed during the suspension period to find out the viability or otherwise of the basin.”
Yar’Adua further stated that analyses of existing seismic well and geochemical data and integrated studies with the aim of evaluation and understanding the reasons for the past exploration failure had been conducted.
He explained that as a result, of the integrated studies by the consortium of 10 consultants, the Lake Chad/Baga area was being considered a moderate risk.
He noted the activities that will be carried out for the period of 2008 to 2010 to include Aero-Magnetic Survey, 3D Seismic Data acquisition, processing and interpretation and drilling of exploration wells.
Other activities are scanning/vectorisation of existing 2D seismic data and well logs and environmental baseline study.
On what will happen if commercial oil was struck, Yar Adua stated that the Nigeria Petroleum Development Company, the production subsidiary of NNPC will take charge.
He said, “If they have the funds and the technical know how to do it, fine and good. But if NPDC finds that within itself that it does not have those funds, they should go out and get investors. They can even go to the Stock market and sell some of their shares openly.”
The GMD subsequently directed the Integrated Data Services Limited, a subsidiary of NNPC to deploy all the needed technical staff and machineries to this evaluation, adding that they will be supported by National Petroleum Investment Management Services.
Responding, the Governor of Borno State, Senator, Ali Modu Sheriff promised to assist NNPC in every possible way to ensure that the exploration activities translated into commercial success, which according to him will transform the economy of state and the lives of the citizenry.
- - (punchng)