Ejiofor Alike
23 October 2008
Lagos — Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has commenced oil exploration in Lake Chad basin, a project it abandoned years ago.
This is in apparent response to the Oil and Gas Sector Implementation Committee (OGIC)'s recommendation that NNPC becomes a commercially-driven entity, exploring for oil in the country and beyond.
THISDAY checks revealed that this development may also not be unconnected with a call by the Shehu of Borno, Alhaji Mustapha Umar El-Kanemi, who had earlier this month, called on NNPC to begin oil exploration in the Lake Chad Basin and Benue Trough for the socio-economic development of the North and the entire country.
As part of the plan, NNPC Group Managing Director, Engineer Abubakar Lawal Yar'Adua, will today lead a high-powered delegation of NNPC officials to Borno State, accompanied by Group Executive Director (GED) in charge of Exploration and Production (E&P), Engineer Chris Osa Ogiemwonyi and Group General Manager (GGM), National Petroleum Investment and Management Services (NAPIMS), an investment arm of the NNPC, Dr Musa Baru.
THISDAY gathered that the delegation will intimate the Shehu of Borno, Alhaji El-Kanemi and Governor of the state, Ali Modu Sheriff, of the development.
Group General Manager in charge of Group Public Affairs Division of NNPC, Dr Levi Ajuonuma, told THISDAY yesterday, that NNPC is going back to the Chad Basin in "full force."
"GMD will lead a delegation as you said, to brief the Shehu of Borno, the governor and communities in the area on the new move. It is part of the OGIC report; the implementation of wich will see NNPC working fully as a commercial entity, prospecting fully for oil and gas in Nigeria and beyond.
"It is hoped that many wells will be discovered in the area," he said, adding that National Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), a subsidiary of the NNPC will employ the latest technology in the industry in its search for crude oil in the area.
Shehu of Borno had at the beginning of this month, stressed the need for the commencement oil exploration in the Lake Chad basin and the Benue Trough.
THISDAY gathered that of the 23 wells already drilled and abandoned in the north, six are located few kilometres north of the Shehu's palace in Gajiganna.Most northern leaders believe that since there is oil in bordering regions of Chad, Niger and Cameroon , the north could also have oil deposit.
However, most industry stakeholders see this as an exercise in futility, especially when oil majors with their sophisticated technology had since abandoned exploratory activities in the area.
Speaking recently in Lagos on the issue, the President of the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE), Dr Kingsley Ojoh, stated that at about four million years ago, volcanic activities pierced through the oil-bearing sedimentary series in the various basins in the north at extremely high temperature of about 1,500 degrees and burnt down the sediment.Ojoh disclosed that the burning of these oil-bearing sediments have made it difficult for the area to produce crude oil in commercial quantity.He identified the affected basins to include Chad , Sokoto, Bida, Gongola and the Benue Basins .Ojoh, who is also the Executive General Manager, Geosciences and Reservoir Engineering, Total Upstream Nigeria Limited, further stated that the shallow nature of the northern basins also makes it difficult for the area to produce crude oil.According to him, unlike the Niger Delta Basin , which has a depth of 12kilometres, the northern basins have only a depth of less than six kilometres.Ojoh confirmed that 23 exploration wells were drilled in the north but only one or two wells showed indication that there could be oil, adding that the oil was not even commercially viable to encourage further development.According to him, the blocks in the upper Gongola arm of the Benue Trough were given to Shell, Chevron, Total and Agip in 1993 but no oil was discovered."In relative terms, for a basin to have oil, it must have a depth. There is no way you can compare a depth of 12kilometres in the Niger Delta with 4-5kilometres in the inland basin. The opportunities are different; the terrain is different and so are the fiscal terms. The risk factor increases as you move from the Niger Delta towards the Chad Basin ," he said.The NAPE president however stated that all hope was not lost but pointed out that finding oil in the lake Chad Basin requires sustained and detailed exploration, long term planning and adequate funding."In the 1930s, experts predicted that oil could never be found in the North Sea , but 10 years later, oil was found in the area. Today, Brent Crude is produced in the North Sea . So, never say 'never'," he added.
Read comments. Write your own.
Copyright © 2008 This Day. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
