Nigeria hunts for oil in Sokoto

The Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has revealed it has started the process that will lead to the exploration of oil and gas in the Sokoto basin.

NNPC's Group Managing Director, Maikanti Baru, disclosed this when he received the Governor of Sokoto state, Aminu Tambuwal, who paid a working visit to the NNPC Towers in Abuja.

In a statement issued by Tambuwal's spokesman, Malam Imam Imam, Baru said, "We have been on the issue of exploration in the frontier basins and so far some measures of steps have been taken. We have already purchased aeromagnetic data and it's being interpreted to determine the sedimentary thickness and the basin configuration.

"Secondly, we have awarded a contract for the geological mapping of the basin and I am happy to state here that samples have been collected, mapped, analysed and geological modeling executed so as to ensure data integration."

Baru added that discussions are ongoing with Integrated Data Services Limited (IDSL) to award contract for surface geochemistry, ground gravity and magnetics.

According to him, this is necessary to determine if hydrocarbon was generated in the basins and importantly, to integrate all data for understanding of petroleum systems of the basins.

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The GMD said the NNPC will also carry out high resolution regional 2D seismic data acquisition to identify leads and prospects, after which a 3D seismic data acquisition will be carried out over leads and prospects.

"After all these are carried out, we will then begin to drill for oil and gas in the basin," he added.

While commending Tambuwal for the visit, Baru assured that the corporation is giving required attention to renewable energy and inland basins in order to create a prosperous future for the entity.

Earlier in his remarks, Tambuwal said various studies have been carried out by the government on the Sokoto Basins, the result of which will be made available to the NNPC to aid its efforts.

He said the government, in collaboration with the Usman Danfodio University, will organise a national conference on the Sokoto Basin in October where international scholars will make presentations on the topic.

"We are inviting you and the NNPC to take part in this important conference because we believe it will add value in our search for hydrocarbon in the Sokoto Basin," he added.

He said historical records indicate that the presence of hydrocarbon in the Sokoto Basin has been a subject of interest to geologists for long, a situation that made Italian oil giants, Elf, to consider preliminary exploration activities beginning from the 1950s.

He said Sokoto government will welcome the start of activities and will support any effort that will lead to positive result.