The inauguration of drilling operations at the Kolmani River Oil Field that straddles Gombe and Bauchi states and with estimated reserves of over one billion barrels of crude potentially diversifies oil production from the Niger-Delta and brings the country closer to its ambition of growing crude oil reserves to 40 billion barrels.
Coming at a time when Nigeria’s crude oil reserves is retrogressing, standing at about 37 billion barrels for over 10 years, The Guardian could not find the details of the much talked about crude oil discovery at the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) as part of the country’s current crude oil reserves.
The SPDC’s Media Relations Manager, Mrs Abimbola Essien-Nelson, confirmed to news agency on Friday in Lagos. SPDC had said that the Forcados Oil Terminal would resume export operations by the end of October, when the ongoing essential repairs would have been completed.
It also stated that international oil companies were massively shifting focus to alternative fuels, as the threat posed by the push for renewables was seriously gaining momentum.
In 2020, the Nigerian Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI) said Nigeria’s loss to crude oil theft stands at $4.19 billion yearly. Reportedly, Nigeria is losing over 300,000 barrels of crude oil per day to oil theft, vandalism and other related criminal vices in the country. The implications, according to reports released by NEITI include loss of revenue, environmental disaster, a threat to regional peace and security, the proliferation of arms and a poor investment climate.
The Minister of State Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, said this on Wednesday at Bonny Island, Rivers, while addressing officers of the 146 Battalion and other security agencies represented in the fight against oil theft.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) on Thursday said the volume of crude oil discovered in Benue Trough was in commercial quantity.
