The Federal Government has intensified the search for crude oil in commercial quantity in the Chad Basin. Already, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has disclosed that it is fine-tuning a comprehensive framework designed for exploration in the Chad Basin..

And determined to ensure that the latest quest for a sustainable oil find in the Chad Basin is successful, the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Deziani Alison-Madueke, in line with a directive from the Presidency has directed the corporation to continue the search for oil in the area.

A statement made available by Dr. Levi Ajuonuma, Group General Manager, Public Affairs of the NNPC quoted Mrs. Alison-Madueke as saying that “though it is too early to be categorical, there is a possibility that we may find oil in commercial quantity in the Chad Basin because of the discoveries of commercial hydrocarbon deposits in neighbouring countries of Chad, Niger and Sudan which have similar structural settings with the Chad Basin.  Therefore, it is prudent to aggressively explore the Chad Basin for possible hydrocarbon deposits.”

Discoveries made in neighbouring countries in basins with similar structural settings include Doba, Doseo and Bongor, all in Chad amount to over two billion barrels (Bbbls); Logone Birni in Southern Chad and Northern Cameroun, over 100 Bbbls; and Termit-Agadem Basin in Niger totals over 1Bbbls.

Already, the NNPC New Frontier Exploration Services Division which is leading the charge for crude oil find in the entire Inland Basins is acquiring 3,550 sq km of 3- D seismic data for processing and interpretation in addition to the 6000km of 2-D data that is currently being reprocessed.

The statement noted that over 600,000 seismic section and 30,000 well logs were being scanned and vectorised in good time for eventual drilling. Before now, 23 wells have been drilled with two of the wells, Wadi-1 and Kinasar encountering non- commercial gas.

According to him, the NNPC New Frontier Exploration Division, which is headed by Olakunle Olaosebikan, is working in consultation with a renowned geophysicist and consultant to the United Nations, Prof. Deborah Ajakaiye who is leading a team

of Nigerian and foreign geologists/geophysicists in the search for hydrocarbon deposit in the Nigerian Frontier Inland Sedimentary Basins (NFISB).

“The search is not limited to the Chad Basin alone but covers extensive inquest in the entire Nigerian Frontier Sedimentary Basins which includes- The Anambra, Bida, Dahomey, Gongola/Yola and the Sokoto Basins alongside the Middle/Lower Benue Trough,’’ Ajuonuma added.

He also said that as part of its corporate social responsibility to the host community and because of its proximity to the operations area, the management of the NNPC had granted approval to engage the University of Maiduguri to conduct the environmental baseline studies/impact assessment for the Chad Basin project.

His words: “The Corporation believes that such a study will help the university and the community to build its capacity. Already the community is benefiting immensely from the project through the employment of able-bodied local youths as linesmen, field assistants, storekeepers, drivers etc. These are critical components in the execution of this project.”