Three years after the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Ltd discovered crude oil in commercial quantity in Northern Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari will tomorrow officially flag off the ground-breaking ceremony of the Kolmani OPLs 809 and 810 at the Kolmani field site in Bauchi and Gombe states.
The NNPC Ltd had in October 2019 announced the discovery of crude oil, gas and condensate in the Kolmani River region at the border community between Bauchi and Gombe states.
This oil field is to be developed by Sterling Global Oil, New Nigeria Development Company and NNPC Limited.
This is as stakeholders in the oil and gas industry have submitted that Nigeria is now more forward looking in efforts to develop her natural resources.
The ceremony will be attended by the president who also doubles as the minister of Petroleum Resources.
Buhari will be joined in the flag-off by his cabinet members, including the minister of state for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva.
Other dignitaries expected at the event are the chairman of the NNPC Board, Mrs Margary Okadigbo; the NNPC group chief executive officer, Mallam Mele Kyari; the executive vice president, Upstream, NNPC Limited, Mr Adokiye Tombomieye; and chief investment officer of the NNPC Upstream Investment Management Services Ltd, Mr Bala Wunti, among others.
The flag-off of the crude oil drilling is a major boost to the efforts by the federal government to ensure that the region produces crude oil in commercial quantity.
OPLs 809 and 810 lie in the Gongola Basin of the Upper Benue trough in the straddle area between Bauchi and Gombe states. It is part of the Upper Benue Trough is a North-South trending arm of the 1000km long Benue Trough.
Findings revealed that it is a major geological structure underlying a large part of Nigeria, extending about 1,000 km northeast from the Bight of Benin to Lake Chad. It is part of the broader Central African Rift System.
The New Nigeria Development Company participated in the Nigerian License Round of August 2005 and won four blocks, including OPLs 809 and 810.
These acreages were first awarded by the Nigerian government under Production Sharing Contracts (PSC) in 1993, to SNEPCo, Chevron and ELF.
These companies drilled a well each in their respective blocs. Kolmani River-1 was drilled on OPL 809 by SNEPCo, Nasara-1 on OPL 810 by CHEVRON and Kuzari- 1 on OPL 813 by ELF.
Both reported no commercial finds and abandoned the field. (Leadership)