Nigeria begins oil exploration in Niger State
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Group Managing Director Alhaji Mele Kyari announced that the corporation has commenced oil exploration exercises in the Bida Basin comprising eight local governments in Niger state.
Alhaji Kyari mentioned that the ongoing exploration can add 40 billion barrels to the nation’s reserves by 2023. The NNPC Group General Manager, Frontier Exploration Services, Abdullahi Bomai revealed that in-depth geological and geochemical studies have shown a strong presence of hydrocarbon-bearing indicators. Oil and gas-bearing formations are said to have been confirmed in eight local governments in Niger, of which extends to two local governments in Kwara state and Kogi state.
The management of NNPC approved the award of a contract to Integrated Data Services Limited and their alliance partners, China National Petroleum Corporation International Nigeria limited, to embark on immediate seismic data acquisition to further reveal the true extent of hydrocarbons present in the Bida Basin.
The Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engineer Simbi Wabote launched BrentPlus during a webinar organized by the Board. This is a series of initiatives under the Board’s Nigerian Oil and Gas Technology program aimed at stimulating innovations in the oil and gas industry and ancillary sectors to create a platform for local creation of digital technologies. Wabote mentioned that one of the strategic initiatives under the Nigerian content 10-year roadmap is to promote the development of innovative in-country solutions in the oil and gas industry.
He further noted that BrentPlus will include processes of problem definition, call for innovation, Nigerian Oil and Gas Technology Hackathon, incubation and scale-up. The NCDMB boss solicited for the industry’s collaboration and support in helping to understand the most pressing challenges and provide datasets that can be useful for the innovators. He also called for mentors who will provide help and guidance to teams at the stages of hackathon and incubation and serve as advisors to incubated teams.
