33 months after Kolmani oil project yet to take off
On November 22, 2022, about 33 months ago something historic happened. It was the visit of then President Muhammadu Buhari to the Kolmani village, a remote area situated between Gombe and Bauchi State. It is located about 74 kilometres southwest of Gombe, the capital of Gombe State. Kolmani is a district under the Pindiga Emirate […]
On November 22, 2022, about 33 months ago something historic happened. It was the visit of then President Muhammadu Buhari to the Kolmani village, a remote area situated between Gombe and Bauchi State.
It is located about 74 kilometres southwest of Gombe, the capital of Gombe State.
Kolmani is a district under the Pindiga Emirate Council in Akko Local Government Area of Gombe State, with an estimated population of 4,770 people sparsely residing in five villages that make up the district.
The five villages around the oil fields in Kolmani are Tai, Gagara Bami, Dumbe, Kaltangan Gizimawa and Kaltangan Malam Gambo.
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During the November 2022 visit, late President Buhari flagged off oil exploration in the area, the first of its kind in the whole of northern Nigeria.
Those behind the Kolmani Integrated Development Project described it as a significant milestone for Nigeria’s energy industry, with the potential to produce 50,000 barrels per day.
According to reports, the Kolmani fields hold over a billion-crude oil reserve, which could significantly raise Nigeria’s oil reserve that has not grown in 10 years.
In his speech during the flag-off, Buhari said the project had attracted over $3 billion in foreign direct investment.
He commended the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and its partners for the successful discovery of oil and gas in the Kolmani River Field, highlighting the project’s significance in achieving energy security, financial security and overall socioeconomic development of the country.
The then president described the day as important in the economic history of the country, heralding the production of oil and gas in the Upper Benue Trough.
Weekend Trust gathered that there’s a Production Sharing Contract (PSC). Also, while the NNPC is the concessionaire of the blocks, the NNPC Exploration and Production Limited (NEPL) and the New Nigeria Development Company (NNDC) are the contracting parties.
It was also said that the African Oil Movers Limited (AOML) Consortium had signed a strategic partnership with the contractors to provide funding and technical capabilities for the integrated oil and gas development project, and to be compensated from the contractor’s oil profit after commencement of operations.
There was also an in-situ integrated development plan, which guarantees evacuation and monetisation route for the hydrocarbon in the location, thereby eliminating the high cost and burden of building crude and product pipelines.
Exploration activities excited residents
During the November 2022 visit by the then president, locals in Kolmani and surrounding five villages were taken over by the euphoria of the sight of high and mighty that graced the occasion, believing that they would soon see oil flowing, and their lives would change from that of peasant farmers to people of affluence living around oil wells.
“The people were very optimistic because they saw a retinue of prominent people that accompanied the then President Buhari, such as governors and ministers, including the then presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and captains of industry, as well as some members of the diplomatic corps,” a resident of Kolmani, Sani Adamu said.
He said the celebration was not only in Bauchi and Gombe but “a huge sigh of relief across the northeastern part of the country, and by extension, the North.
“The people strongly believed that a jinx had been broken, that the region, which is being described in certain quarters as “parasitic,” would also start contributing significant funds to the table of the Federal Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC), in addition to what comes from the Niger Delta region.”
However, three years after the initial pomp and pageantry that heralded the purported commencement of exploration activities in the area, communities around the Kolmani oil fields said they felt disappointed and abandoned.
Our correspondent who visited Kolmani recently reports that the communities around the village felt that the optimism, like many others before it, has so far remained a pipedream.
To add to their disappointment, last July there were reports of dismantling and moving out of the oil drilling rig to another location outside Gombe and Bauchi states, a development that made the host communities worried.
Communities around Sabon Kaura and Garin Galadima, along the 22 kilometre unpaved road, said they observed the movement of heavy trucks loaded with oil drilling rigs, purportedly that the rig meant for the exploration are being taken away from the area.
Weekend Trust learnt that the communities became concerned that equipment for drilling the oil wells were being moved out of the area with no explanation from the government or contractors handling the project.
Bauchi, Gombe delegation inspects project
In an effort to douse tension over the deepening silence, a joint delegation comprising officials from both Gombe and Bauchi states, embarked on a strategic visit to assess the ongoing exploration activities at the Kolmani oil fields.
The high-powered delegation consisted of the Gombe State Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Sanusi Ahmad Pindiga, Bauchi State’s Commissioner for Natural Resources Development, Muhammad Maiwada Bello and the Commissioner for Commerce, Trade and Investment, Muhammad Salisu Gamawa.
It was learnt that during the visit, the delegation had an engaging and insightful discussion, which primarily focused on the current pace and scope of integration at the Kolmani field under the operational management of African Oil Mover Limited (AOML).
The commissioners requested the company handling the project to provide them with the overview, including the expected completion time to enable close monitoring and intervention where necessary.
While commending the management of the NNPCL for giving fair hearing to the affected states, the commissioners urged them to fast-track the completion of the project, with a view to mitigating revenue leakages and boost the economy of the area and Nigeria as a whole.
“Our communities are eager to know the position of this important project. We are protecting their right and interest. We lose revenue every day, let’s collaborate and work with all the stakeholders to push this project to completion,” Bauchi State’s Commissioner for Natural Resources Development, Bello said.
He further said there’s the need for transparency and accountability in the project management, adding, “We need to ensure that the project is completed in time and meets the expectations of the people of Bauchi and Gombe states.
“The project is crucial to the development of our states, and we need to ensure that it is completed without further delay. We will work closely with the company to address the concerns of the host community.
“We carefully reviewed the progress and evaluated areas requiring intensified coordination. We took the opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to ensuring a continuous and strategic communication linkage between stakeholders.
“More importantly, we stressed the need for regular and transparent progress reports to counter the prolonged silence and sluggish updates that have characterised the project so far. This, we believe, will not only enhance oversight but also fast-track delivery and stakeholder confidence.”
Also speaking, Gombe state’s Commissioner of Energy and Mineral Resources, Pindiga, emphasised the need for providing the comprehensive update on the project.
“We need a comprehensive overview of the project to have a clear picture of the exercise. The project is a vital component of our states’ development plans, and we need to ensure that it is completed in time and within budget. We will work closely with the company to address any challenge and ensure the project’s success.
“We expect the company to prioritise transparency and accountability in project management. We need to ensure that the project benefits the local communities and meets the expectations of the people of the affected states,” Pindiga said.
The Field Base manager of AOML and representative of the NNPCL, who received the high-powered delegation, dispelled the claims going round about suspension of the ongoing project.
They informed the team that the rig that was taken out had completed its job description.
According to them, a bigger rig will be required to continue with re-entry into KR 2, KR3 and KR 4.
Representatives of the companies also promised to forward the complaints shared by the two states to the higher authorities for appropriate action.
They also appreciated the cordial relationship with the host communities of Bauchi and Gombe states and described the joint session as a great achievement.
Residents hopeful
Speaking with Weekend Trust, the district head of Kolmani and Santuraki Babba of Pindiga Emirate, Muhammadu Magaji Ibrahim, a lawyer, said his people were hopeful that development would come to the community because of the discovery of oil.
He said the discovery had already started bringing a lot of development to the area.
“The company has already created a 22-kilometre unpaved road into the community linking us with Pindiga. Before now, our villages can only be accessed through heavy vehicles. Now, our people can access the community through the unpaved road cleared by the exploration companies to make it easier for them to move both heavy and other project vehicles.
“They have already sunk boreholes where we are getting clean water. They also constructed a 20-bed capacity hospital. Also, our people are expecting schools, health care services, connection to the national grid, in addition to more employment as both skilled and unskilled work in the oil fields,” he said.
The district head said his people were worried, “considering the level of development brought by the project in the last three years. It is understandable if my people became worried over the said removal of the equipment.”
“However, as a leader, I have to talk to them on the need to be patient because with the level of commitment shown by Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, I strongly believe the work would continue,” he said.
Ibrahim also said the management of the company told him that the rig that was dismantled and removed would be replaced with a new rig that would continue with the drilling.
The traditional ruler explained that it was the movement of the rig, which was carried out in about 10 trucks that drew the attention of the people, who felt that the work was being abandoned and the contractors were removing all their equipment.
“But alongside officials of the Gombe State Government, we were able to explain to them the reason for taking away the drilling rigs. They assured us that a bigger rig would be brought and work would continue on the oil fields,” he added.
Despite the concerns and the silence, the traditional ruler told Weekend Trust that he is hopeful and believes that work on the Kolmani oil fields would soon continue.