…Pledges Continued Support for Federal Government’s Ambition in Frontier Regions*

By Ngozi Onyeakusi—The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited  (NNPC) has provided updates on its crude oil exploration activities in the Northern part of the country, reiterating its commitment to achieving the Federal Government’s aspirations in the frontier basins.

“The company has been actively drilling in basins in and around Northern Nigeria, as a result of the need to increase oil exploration in the country’s frontier basins”.

This was contained in a publication authored by the Chief Corporate Communications Officer, NNPC Ltd, Olufemi Soneye, who noted that “this is a strategic engagement that NNPC Ltd will not compromise on.”

Soneye pointed out that the NNPCL is intensifying its patriotic efforts, making significant progress, and advancing considerable prospects to make do its promises to Nigerians.

Soneye, added that the discovery and exploration of crude oil in the north will not only appear as a dream pursued, but as an economic reality to boost oil production as  well as deepen the strength and efficiency of the petroleum industry value chain in Nigeria.

He said: “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 other basins.

“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.”

While stating  that the NNPC Ltd would not suspend its inland basins oil and gas exploration activities, as some have suggested, he quipped that “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

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPCL) has assured that contrary to insinuations in some quarters, oil exploration in the northern of the country is on course.

Olufemi Soneye, Chief Corporate Communications Officer (CCCO) of NNPC Limited, made this clarification in a recent publication   noting that  the company  in compliance with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, is leaving no stone unturned to continue oil drilling projects in the North after decades of exploration in the South.

He emphasized that the company is currently active in the inland basins of Nigeria with some  drilling projects including Wadi-2 Appraisal/Exploratory Well in OPL 732 and Ebenyi-1 Exploration Well in OPL 826.

According to him, the Wadi-2 Appraisal/Exploratory Well in OPL 732 in Borno State, within the Chad Basin, was spudded on November 4, 2023, and drilled to a total depth of 12,050 feet.

He noted that the drilling phase concluded on June 29, 2024 and the 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,” he stated.

On Ebenyi-1 Exploration Well in OPL 826, which 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”, Soneye stated.

On the Kolmani River where in 2019 1 billion barrels of oil reserves and 500 billion cubic feet of gas was discovered, Soneye said 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 its and its partners behalf.

He said the drilling campaign confirmed the presence of commercial hydrocarbon deposits in the Kolmani field of OPLs 809 and 810.

He noted that the rig that drilled the 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”, Soneye stated.

The NNPC Ltd. spokesman said the current leadership of the company  is committed to addressing every gap within its purview including 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”, Soneye said.

He said Kyari’s leadership style  has revitalized NNPC Ltd. workforce even as the company continues to attract the interest of business partners, customers, suppliers, and shareholders noting that 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
Soneye said in addition to thus, the company hsd maintained 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.

“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,”  the NNPC spokesman said.

He added that NNPC Ltd. will continue exploration in the north so that it can sustain  this type of excellent financial performance and gains for its investors and Nigerians at large noting that “the more strategic explorations we make, the better for all of us.