The federal government has announced the discovery of crude oil in Bauchi and Gombe states.
President Muhammadu Buhari disclosed this on Tuesday, November 20, during the flag-off of oil exploration in Bauchi state.
The Kolmani Integrated Development Project is the first of its kind in Nigeria’s northeast zone.
President Buhari noted that the $3 billion project is proof of his administration’s commitment to attracting direct foreign investment to Nigeria regardless of the “near zero appetites” for investment in fossil energy”.
“Considering the land locked location and the huge capital requirement, the economics of the project is a challenging proposition. Consequently, from the outset, I instructed NNPC Limited to utilize and leverage their vast asset portfolio across all corridors of its operations to de-risk the project to attract the much-needed investment,” Buhari said.
The president said that the project would be referenced in discussions within the oil and gas industry even as Nigeria pursues the energy transition plan that will culminate in the country achieving Net- Zero position by the year 2060.
Speaking at the event, Mele Kyari, the Group Managing Director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, noted that the project would commence with the production of about 50,000 barrels of crude oil per day.
Present at the event were Senate President Ahmad Lawan; Bola Tinubu, presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC); and Timipre Sylva, minister of state for petroleum resources.
