Crude Oil Drilling & Exploration In The North Fully On Course: A Caution To Sceptics & Naysayers

•NNPC Ltd continues to turn in excellent performance

By Olufemi Soneye

Every developing nation strives to attain political stability, economic growth, and meaningful development. Those aspirations can only materialise when the traits of gullibility and lack of circumspection are put in check.

Nigeria, as a country, is afflicted with some disturbing and protracting issues, such as misplaced political consciousness and intolerance, made worse by the inter-play of tribal vibes and an unrelenting leaning on bad politics.

In changing this dangerous narrative for good, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) has vowed to end all forms of scepticism and doubts, while keeping the eyes on the ball and delivering on its mandate and policy thrust.  This, to the extent that the discovery and exploration of crude oil in the northern part of Nigeria will not only appear as a dream pursued, but as an economic reality to boost OPEC quota for the nation and, as well, deepen the strength and efficiency of the petroleum industry value chain in Nigeria.

This is a strategic engagement that NNPC Ltd will not compromise on.

NNPC Ltd, in compliance with the Petroleum Industry Act, PIA, is leaving no stone unturned to continue oil drilling projects in the North after decades of exploration in the South.

With crude oil reserves of more than 37 billion barrels and the 6th largest world producer, the discovery of hydrocarbon deposits in the Kolmani River II Well on the Upper Benue Trough, Gongola Basin, in the north eastern part of the country will only accentuate the prosperity and growth of Nigeria in the comity of nations.

It is therefore untrue for naysayers or sceptics to claim that NNPC has halted the search for oil in Nigeria’s inland basins. On the contrary, NNPC Ltd is intensifying its patriotic efforts, making significant progress, and advancing considerable prospects to make do its promises no matter whose ox is gored.

Exploration Continues

It must, however, be emphasized that NNPC Ltd is currently active in the inland basins of Nigeria with the following drilling projects:

1.    Wadi-2 Appraisal/Exploratory Well in OPL 732: This well is in Borno State, within the Chad Basin. It was spudded on November 4, 2023, and drilled to a total depth of 12,050 feet. The drilling phase concluded on June 29, 2024.

      Preliminary results from the geological evaluation of the well objectives led to post-drilling well testing, which began on July 4, 2024, and is ongoing. This testing aims to further evaluate the target reservoirs for the occurrence of a commercial accumulation of hydrocarbons and to obtain data for future field development.

2.   Ebenyi-1 Exploration Well in OPL 826: This well is situated in Nasarawa State, within the Middle Benue Trough. Drilling began on July 17, 2023. The 17½” hole section was drilled and cased to a depth of 3,449 feet. The drilling operations faced challenges due to issues with the hole and equipment breakdowns. The turnkey contractor is finalizing plans to replace the drilling equipment with newer models to continue drilling operations to the planned total depth of 14,250 feet.

You may recall that the defunct Frontier Exploration Services (FES) of NNPC Ltd drilled three wells—Kolmani River-2, Kolmani River-3, and Kolmani River-4—in the Upper Benue Trough (northeast Nigeria) on our behalf and co-venturers.

This drilling campaign confirmed the presence of commercial hydrocarbon deposits in the Kolmani field of OPLs 809 and 810. The rig that drilled these wells was subsequently moved to start the Nasarawa project, with the goal of replicating the success achieved in the Kolmani field.

In collaboration with co-venturers, we are  working towards the next phase of field development. The post-exploration planning takes time to meet regulatory requirements before the development phase can commence. Significant infrastructure projects are currently underway to facilitate the movement of heavy-duty equipment for the next project phase in the area.

NNPC Ltd has not and will not suspend its inland basins oil and gas exploration activities, as some have suggested.

Instead, the company is intensifying efforts to expedite the process and ensure the efficient exploitation of hydrocarbon resources in these areas, thereby contributing to national energy security.

Pius Akinyelure/Mele Kyari’s Midas Touch

The current leadership of NNPC Ltd appears committed to addressing every gap within its purview, and this also extends to infrastructural issues associated with the oil and gas industry such as gas shortages for power supply, pipeline protection and maintaining the uninterrupted provision of petroleum products across the country.

For clarity, the NNPC Ltd, under the chairmanship of Chief Pius Akinyelure and managerial  leadership of Mele Kyari, is well-positioned to capture the economic opportunities associated with developing and selling hydrocarbons in a resource rich country like Nigeria.

These benefits are to be equitably distributed across society and create wealth for human capital development and capacity building.

It is to further achieve this sufficiency that, under Kyari’s leadership, NNPC Ltd is fully aligned with the federal government’s ambition to accelerate economic growth and diversify the economy for the benefit of all Nigerians. This is being achieved through timely, credible, clear, and consistent policies.

Since taking charge in July 2019, he has driven significant organizational renewal and greatly improved NNPC’s performance and long-term viability. The board and Kyari have been the driving force behind ambitious business growth and have instilled a new commercial mindset throughout the company’s entire value chain.

Under his leadership, the NNPC Ltd workforce has been revitalized. Today, the company continues to attract the interest of business partners, customers, suppliers, and shareholders. Since its transition to a commercial entity under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, and in line with the Company & Allied Matters Act (CAMA) provisions, NNPC Ltd has consistently delivered value despite its unique operational challenges.

Steady Growth

For the first time in 43 years, NNPC declared a profit. From a loss of N803 billion in 2018, the company reduced this to just N1.7 billion in 2019. Remarkably, in 2020, NNPC posted its first-ever profit of N287 billion, which grew to N674.1 billion in 2021, and by the end of 2022, it had soared to N2.548 trillion

Our 2023 Finacial Statement

In our 2023 Audited Financial Statement, AFS, we declared a net profit of N3.297 trillion for the fiscal year, indicating an increase of 28 percent (over N700 billion) compared to the N2.548 trillion recorded in 2022.

The N3.297 trillion profit declared for 2023 is very symbolic as it is the highest ever to be recorded since inception, 46 years ago.

In terms of asset growth, we have moved from N13,300 billion in 2019 to N15,836 billion in 2020; N16,262 billion in 2021; N58,652 billion in 2022; and N246,816 billion, in 2023.

NNPC Ltd will definitely continue exploration in the north so that it can continue this type of excellent financial performance and  gains for its investors and Nigerians at large.

The more strategic explorations we make, the better for all of us.

•Soneye is the Chief Corporate Communications Officer, CCCO, of NNPC Limited.