House directs petroleum ministry, NNPC to expedite action on oil deposit in Bida Basin
Speaker of Nigeria’s House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila PHOTO:Twitter
House of Representatives has directed the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources to ascertain availability of hydrocarbons in commercial quantity in Bida Basin.
Adopting a motion sponsored by Mr. Saidu Musa Abdullahi during plenary presided by Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila, the House enjoined the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Limited to conclude geophysical survey.
The House also mandated its Committees on Petroleum Resources (Upstream) and Legislative Compliance to ensure compliance.
Abdullahi (APC, Niger) argued that the call was in tandem with President Muhammadu Buhari’s directive to the NNPC management to speed up oil exploration across the country, following discovery of hydrocarbons in the Chad Basin and Kolmani River.
He said NNPC, responsible for the Frontier Exploration Services in 2020, in an in-depth geological and geochemical study, revealed a strong presence of hydrocarbon-bearing indicators confirmed as oil and gas-bearing formations in the Bida Basin.
The lawmaker expressed optimism that if the volume of oil in the basin is established, and exploration activities commence fully, Nigeria might, in the near future, overtake Libya, the country with the largest oil reserve in Africa.
