Ike Amos
Dublin, Ireland — Few days after President Muhammadu Buhari officially flagged off crude oil exploration in the Kolmani River oil and gas field, located between Bauchi and Gombe states, the government of Niger State said it has commenced the search for crude oil in the Bida Basin of the state.
In a statement by the Federal Ministry of Petroleum in Abuja, Governor of Niger State, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello, disclosed that the search was as a result of evidence of large quantities of the commodity in the inland basin in the state.
Bello, who was represented by Secretary to the Niger State Government, Alhaji Ahmed Mutane, at the 7th National Council of Hydrocarbons meeting which took place in the state, posited that there is a proven presence of commercially viable hydrocarbons in the Bida Basin of the State.
To this end, he added that the state government had engaged Whitepages International Company Limited, as a consultant, in collaboration with the Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University and the Federal University of Technology.
He disclosed that the state and its partners would be seeking to explore and harness the hydrocarbon opportunities in the Bida Basin, adding that so far, the result had been impressive.
Furthermore, Bello expressed optimism that achieving the Energy Transition Plan in Nigeria was attainable, if the leadership of the country is able to strategically outline the right policy directions and draw up implementable frameworks for the supervisory agencies correctly.
Also speaking, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, restated the government’s eagerness and commitment towards achieving its Net-zero emission targets by 2060.
Sylva, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Ambassador Gabriel Aduda, stated that already, Nigeria had commenced the mitigation and adaptation of proactive measures towards achieving its net-zero emission targets by 2060.
He further noted that the recently concluded U.N Climate Conference (COP27) held in Egypt, offered another opportunity for Nigeria to identify opportunities for cooperation and collaboration with other countries and international organisations that would help accelerate mitigation and adaptation of proactive measures towards achieving its Net-zero emissions targets.
The Minister stated that, Nigeria as a major oil producing country on the African continent was not only committed to Net-zero by 2060 and its Energy Transition Plan but was among the first 50 to have launched its guidelines for the management of fugitive methane and greenhouse gases emissions in the upstream oil and gas sector.
He added that this was expected to be gazette by the first quarter of 2023, after which the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) shall forward to all stakeholders, six months compliance directives to reduce Nigeria’s emission footprints and increase its air quality.
He said: “As a member of the African Petroleum Producers’ Organization, Nigeria is committed to working and supporting other member countries who desire to develop their methane management guidelines and fostering cooperation and collaboration for cleaner processing of fossil fuels.
“Oil and gas are a major development resource for Africa and will be for a long time to come. We are however putting measures in place to ensure cleaner processes and processing to mitigate the impact of methane and greenhouse gases.”
Sylva also noted that one of the gains recorded in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector with the signing of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021 was the creation of regulatory frameworks with clear and non-overlapping mandates for the growth and development of the oil and gas sector.
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