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NNPC to resume oil exploration in Bauchi, Gombe

By Ali Garba, Bauchi
14 October 2016   |   4:36 am
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has concluded plans to move heavy equipment to Bauchi and Gombe States preparatory to oil exploration, said Group Managing Director Maikanti Baru.
The Group Managing Director of NNPC, Maikanti Baru PHOTO: TWITTER/NNPC

The Group Managing Director of NNPC, Maikanti Baru PHOTO: TWITTER/NNPC

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has concluded plans to move heavy equipment to Bauchi and Gombe States preparatory to oil exploration, said Group Managing Director Maikanti Baru.

The NNPC boss, who was received by senior officials of the corporation and the Bauchi State Chief of Staff, Audu Sule Katagum, said his mission to both states was to sensitise people on the forthcoming activity.

At the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Airport, Bauchi, yesterday, Baru said: “We are here to signify our intention to sensitise the good people of Bauchi and Gombe States on our effort to move back to the Gongola Basin.

“Our intention is to start 3D seismic acquisition and cover as much of the basin as possible, to continue work, in terms of exploring hydrocarbon in the North East. Of course, our activities in the Chad Basin will also be re-activated, as soon as we get clear sign.

“Our mission is to sensitise the people, so that if they see the seismic crew moving about in their farms, drilling boreholes, and dropping seismic lines across various areas, they would not be distracted or scared.

“We have come specifically to lay various equipment and take seismic data. That data will be analysed and we will see as deep as possible below the surface, as much as 10 to 15 kilometers below the ground.”

On the possibility of getting oil in Bauchi and Gombe, Baru said: “The prospect is good because exploration that was done in one of the wells near Yankari Game Reserve showed interesting find, although not in commercial quantity. Our intention is to probe with more definitive seismic data that will ensure we cover as much as possible.”

10 Comments

  • Author’s gravatar

    Good news for Nigeria, lets hope the igbos will not begin to lay claims to the NE as part of the territories the British created for them too!

    • Author’s gravatar

      I just hope the oil will flow too well so the North can now separate and leave the SE alone. The spokesman of the North, Artful Dodger is now appropriating the oil to the North, it’s no longer collective ownership. If it’s found in the South, it belongs to ‘everybody’ but in the North? It’s ‘our own’ mentality comes in. Goodluck to the dodgers and their backward folks.

  • Author’s gravatar

    It’s a waste of our country’s hard earned money to still be seeking for oil where there is none in these hard times. The billions being pumped into this unproductive project can be channelled into more useful projects (agriculture, industrialisation, etc) that will help diversify our economy. I pray that our leaders receive sense so they can put a stop to this madness called exploration in the Chad Basin soon.

  • Author’s gravatar

    Danjuma must use the billions he made from Abacha oil block gift to fund this project after all theo stated he never solicited for that stupendous gift. Nigeria decay started silently long time ago ! ! ! !

  • Author’s gravatar

    Half education, half-baked minds..all are enomous in Nigeria…when some people claim to know what they don’t know.

    Oil exploration is not a one year/one month/one day plan…its a medium/long term plan…This exploration activities you are reading about has been on paper for many years…perhaps, if it had been implemented earlier, a breakthrough in commercial quantity would have been made.

    Stop exhibiting your ignorance so openly and care-freely all in the name of tribal sentiment. What is bad in making science scientific finding about how to get oil from other parts of Nigeria? Is it only in one region that Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq and others dreg oil? If they never explored various regions how possibly could they have discovered so much potentials for oil?

    There is no doubts we have comparative advantage in crude oil production, but we need to consolidate to earn more. Its better for people to keep silent rather than passing uninformed judgement about an issue they least know about…this is the true wisdom anyone can display

  • Author’s gravatar

    For how longer will Nigerians realise that finding oil in the North is not only a waste of Nigeria funds but also a cunning ploy to siphon money by those who perpetuate the unnecessary act . Oil exploration in the North East dates back to the 70s and since then none has been found.
    Nigerians are at this time in dare need of such funds for salaries and basic social amenities not such an outright wasteful venture.