.. to boost oil search in 7 inland basins

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has said that it will reinvigorate exploratory activities in the seven hydrocarbon basins in the country.

NNPC Group Managing Director, Dr. Maikanti Baru, disclosed this yesterday when he received the Governor of Yobe State, Alhaji Ibrahim Geidam, at the NNPC Towers, Abuja.

He briefed the governor and his entourage on efforts to increase the tempo of exploratory activities in the industry.

According to a statement by spokesman of the corporation, Ndu Ughamadu, Dr. Baru stated that modalities were on to open up all the basins in the country to prospective investors.

“We are on target and we are looking at the prospectivity of the whole basins of Niger Delta, Chad, Anambra, Benue Trough, Benin, Sokoto and Bida. We are focused on delivering on these basins in line with our mandate,” he said.

The GMD said preliminary exploratory activities had indicated some signs of hydrocarbon in eastern Yobe of the Chad Basin, adding that once the corporation received security clearance, the 3D seismic data acquisition in the area would continue as scheduled.

Baru noted that modern technology would be deployed in the exploration of the Yobe section of the Chad Basin similar to that deployed in the Borno side of the basin.

Earlier, Governor Geidam said his visit was informed by the commitment of President Muhammadu Buhari’s government to increase Nigeria’s oil reserves through exploration of oil and gas in the Chad Basin.

“My visit is a follow-up to our request on exploration of oil in the Yobe section of Chad Basin,” Geidam said.