Nigeria’s Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, has revealed benefits that will accrue Nigeria after the discovery of crude oil at Kolmani River II in the Upper Benue Trough.
Onu said this at the national workshop on research activities in Nigeria’s inland basins, held at Chartwell Hotels and Suites, Bauchi, on Monday.
The workshop was organised by the Energy Commission of Nigeria, a parastatal under the supervision of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation through its research centre, the National Centre for Petroleum Research and Development (NCPRD), located at Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi.
The minister, who was represented by Professor Fli Jidere Bala, Director General of Energy Commission of Nigeria, attributed the efforts of research activities to the discovery of crude oil at River Kolmani II reiterated the desire of the Federal Government to grow the country’s petroleum reserve to about 40 billion barrels by 2030 through diversification from the Niger Delta Basin to include the Frontier Basins of Anambra, Benue, Bida, Chad, onshore Dahomey and Sokoto.
‘We are aware of exploration successes in the Anambra and Dahomey basins but, until recently, none in the Northern Basins,’ he stated as quoted by the Sun.
The minister noted that in the last decade of its research activities in the Benue Trough NCPRD has developed tectonostratigraphic and petroleum system models for the Gongola sub-basin of the Northern Benue Trough and the entire Benue Trough of Nigeria, which suggested the expected structural types/styles capable of trapping hydrocarbon in the Basin(s).
‘The successes recorded, including the nature of oil discovered in the Northern Benue trough, is in agreement with the exploration model developed by the centre,’ he said.
He acknowledged the excellent research and development contributions by NCPRD at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi towards the realisation of the objective to increase our hydrocarbon reserve and consolidate the national economy.
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