Ex-Commissioner Urges Continued Oil Search In Chad Basin

A former Lagos State
Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Mr Taofiq Tijani, has urged the Federal Government to continue its search for oil in the Chad basin in spite of fruitless efforts that have gone into the exercise in the past.
Tijani said that there is the possibility that oil would be found on the Nigerian side of the Chad Basin as oil is being produced on Chad’s side of the basin. He was optimistic that there might be oil reserves in the Basin, adding that with the increasing advanced technology, the reserves could be unlocked one day.
“I support the Federal Government to go back to the Basin because I believe that whatever they must have done there in the past is not exhaustive. If they have found oil on the other side of Chad, there is the possibility that we will find oil in our own side too. The technology of exploration has improved,” he said, stressing that if we could apply the new technologies, oil might be found on Nigeria’s side of the Chad Basin.
The former commissioner also said if the Federal government wants the oil and gas sector in the country to be taken to the next level; it should make effort to pass the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).
“The passage will enable investors to bring in their money into the industry,” he said, noting that the lack of exploration for new oil fields over the years has been as a result of absence of encouraging legislation.
He said, “the Federal Government should quickly look at PIB that is on the table and possibly examine the areas that are in contention, see whether it can extract those areas and get the Bill passed. This is important because what the PIB will do is to rejuvenate the oil industry and encourage people to invest there.
There are some areas of the PIB that are in contention and that is why it has not been passed. If they can just leave that out and debate it later, it will help the industry. They can take those areas that are easy and not in contention, and pass it so that we can get investors to come and operate in the oil and gas industry.”
“Unless they put in money and invest and bring the entire industry back alive, I think we will just be losing ground,” he maintained.