The NNPC said it is “putting the finishing touches to a comprehensive framework” aimed at stepping up exploration activities in the region.
Nigeria’s petroleum resources minister Diezani Alison-Madueke has directed the corporation “to leave no stone unturned in its push to strike ‘black gold’ in the prospective Chad Basin”, the NNPC said.
Alison-Madueke said in a statement released by the NNPC: “Though it is too early to be categorical, there is a possibility that we may find oil in commercial quantities in the Chad Basin because of the discoveries of commercial hydrocarbon deposits in the neighbouring countries of Chad, Niger and Sudan, which have similar structural settings with the Chad Basin. Therefore, it is prudent to aggressively explore the Chad Basin for possible hydrocarbon deposits.”
NNPC’s group general manager for public affairs Levi Ajuonuma said the search would not be limited to the Chad Basin alone, but also “the entire Nigerian frontier sedimentary basins”.
Oil and gas expert Jason Rosychuk of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, said: “NNPC’s ability to resume the search for oil in the Chad Basin signifies an important step towards political stability in the region. Provided this continues, Nigeria may also begin to see the benefits of the millions of dollars invested pre-2013 to facilitate gas and oil exploration in the area.”
According to the Daily Independent in Lagos, NNPC’s group managing director Joseph Dawha said the resumption of oil exploration in the Chad Basin was due in part to an improvement in the security situation in the region.
Last October, the general manager of NNPC’s ‘transformation office’ Yemi Adetunji said the corporation’s target was to reach around 250,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil production by 2020, compared to 110,000 bpd towards the end of 2014 and “barely 60,000 bpd” in 2009.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) said four geological provinces along the northwest and west-central coast of Africa have been assessed for undiscovered oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids resources. “Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the USGS estimated mean volumes of 71.7 billion barrels of oil, 187.2 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, and 10.9 billion barrels of natural gas liquids,” the USGS said.
A report released last year from consultancy Ernst & Young (80-page / 2.4MB PDF) said Nigeria had been the largest recipient of foreign direct investment in Africa over the last decade, 80% of which had been invested in the oil and gas sector.
According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), Europe is the largest regional importer of Nigerian oil. In 2012, Europe imported 889,000 bpd of crude oil and condensate from Nigeria, accounting for 44% of total Nigerian exports. The EIA also listed Nigeria as the largest holder of natural gas proven reserves in Africa and the ninth largest holder in the world.
