Reps probe decline in Kolmani oil well exploration activities

The House of Representatives has tasked its Committees on Petroleum Resources (Downstream, Upstream, and Midstream) and Gas Resources to investigate the decline in exploration activities at the Kolmani Integrated Development Project. The committees are to report their findings within four weeks for further legislative action. The resolution follows a motion presented by Rep. Inuwa Garba […]

The House of Representatives has tasked its Committees on Petroleum Resources (Downstream, Upstream, and Midstream) and Gas Resources to investigate the decline in exploration activities at the Kolmani Integrated Development Project.

The committees are to report their findings within four weeks for further legislative action.

The resolution follows a motion presented by Rep. Inuwa Garba during the plenary session on Wednesday.

In his presentation, Garba highlighted that oil exploration in the Kolmani oil field, located between Gombe and Bauchi states, began in 2016 and former President Muhammadu Buhari inaugurated the Kolmani Integrated Development Project in November 2022.

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He noted that the project has identified approximately 1 billion barrels of crude oil and 500 billion cubic feet of gas within the licensed areas, designated as Oil Prospecting Lease (OPL) 810 and 809.

Garba said, “The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) secured over $3 billion in investments, including a petrochemical refining site, an oil refinery with a capacity of 120,000 barrels per day, a gas processing facility with a capacity of about 500 million cubic feet per day, a fertilizer plant, and a 300MW power plant. This project is expected to reshape the hydrocarbon map of Nigeria, moving from speculative optimism to concrete prospects in the oil and gas sector.”

He further emphasized that the discovery sparked widespread excitement across Nigeria, driven by the government’s directive to NNPCL to expand oil and gas exploration to the Anambra, Benue and Bida Basins. This expansion is expected to bring additional crude oil volumes, foreign exchange, employment and development.

However, Rep. Garba expressed concern that exploration activities have inexplicably declined since the project’s inauguration, causing apprehension and disappointment, particularly given the current oil and gas market realities.

He added that the absence of periodic progress reports on such a significant project has led to speculation and despair, considering the anticipated benefits of wealth creation, employment and national development.

Rep. Garba stressed the need to expedite action on the project, given its potential benefits to the country’s development.