The discovery will attract foreign investment and generate employment, an official said.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited on Friday announced that the official drilling of the first oil well in Nasarawa State will commence in March.

This, the NNPC said, is in continuation of hydrocarbon exploration activities in Nigeria's inland basins.

The company's chief executive officer, Mele Kyari, disclosed this while receiving a delegation of Nasarawa State indigenes, led by the Governor Abdullahi Sule at the NNPC Towers, Abuja, on Friday.

Mr Kyari, however, called for immediate action on the project as the global energy transition had led to a reduction in investment in fossil fuels.

"This work must be done very fast because the whole world is walking away from fossil fuel due to the energy transition. The earlier you go to market, the better for you.

"Otherwise, 10 years from now, no one will agree to put money in the petroleum business except it comes from your cash flow," Mr Kyari said.

He added that community support and a conducive environment were key to a successful operation in the area, in order to avoid the experience of the Niger Delta.

In November last year, President Muhammadu Buhari flagged off the first crude oil drilling project in northern Nigeria, on the boundary of Bauchi and Gombe States.

The NNPC had in October 2019 announced the discovery of hydrocarbon deposits in the Kolmani River II Well on the Upper Benue Trough, Gongola Basin, in the Northeastern part of the country.

The commercial quantity discovery was the first in the region after several crude oil explorations in the Upper Benue Trough.

The discovery of oil and gas in commercial quantities in the Gongola Basin, according to NNPC, will attract foreign investment, generate employment for people to earn income, and increase government revenues.

During the flag-off in Bauchi, Mr Buhari said the successful discovery of the Kolmani Oil and Gas field by NNPC and her partners has finally broken a decade-long jinx.