03 May 2016, Abuja – Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, yesterday disclosed that Nigeria would start oil drilling activities in the Chad Basin by the last quarter of 2016.
Kachikwu in a statement from the Group General Manager, Public Affairs of the NNPC, Mallam Garuba Deen Muhammad, in Abuja, stated that seismic data acquisition activities had progressed reasonably before it was interrupted by insurgency in the North.
He said the federal government and the NNPC were committed to exploring oil and gas in the inland basins especially the Chad Basin and Benue Trough, adding that they have an unwavering commitment to the project.
According to him, the NNPC through its Frontier Exploration Services and Renewable Energy Division (FESRED) had progressed reasonably with seismic acquisition activities in the Chad Basin frontier area up until insurgency necessitated the suspension of operation there.
He said eight phases out of the planned 12-phase project to cover 3,550 square kilometres (sqkm) have been acquired by the date of suspension of operation on November 24, 2014.
“A total of 1, 962sqkm has been acquired and processed, interpretation is currently on-going at about 90 per cent completion, and drilling activities will commence by the last quarter of 2016,” said Kachikwu.
- This Day