Yemi Olakitan
The reported discovery and start of drilling for a one billion barrel crude oilfield and 500 billion cubic feet of gas reserves in the Kolmani fields should be good news for a country whose foreign exchange earnings are largely derived from the export of crude oil, if Nigeria weren’t a country with exacerbated fault lines.
According to President Muhammadu Buhari, who also serves as Minister of Petroleum Resources, this discovery might significantly alter our former 180,000,000,000,000 million cubic foot gas fields and raise Nigeria’s crude oil reserves to 38 billion barrels. Additionally, it improves the outlook for many inland border oilfields, including those in Anambra, Sokoto, Bida, and Lake Chad.
Between the states of Bauchi and Gombe, this site, which is planned to house a refinery, gas plants, power plants, and other industrial facilities, might provide thousands, if not millions, of Nigerians with both direct and indirect gainful work. It might increase federal and state government revenue, draw in investment, broaden our energy supply, and bring petroleum products closer to residents of the North.
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However, a lot of specialists have persisted in expressing their scepticism over the veracity of this oil discovery. It is still plagued by problems with openness, viability, the regional agenda, and even security.
About a week ago, when he officially started drilling, Buhari only stated that the project had received three billion dollars in investors without going into further detail.
This initiative is the first time a regional organisation has been active in the upstream sector of our oil industry thanks to the New Nigeria Development Company Ltd., which is owned by the 19 Northern States. The nine oil-producing Niger Delta states are not granted this access under our 64-year-old oil business.
As a result, the Northern States have continued “resource control” even after oil production in the North began, while the oil-producing states of the Niger Delta receive derivation payments in addition to the NDDC’s interventions.
Buhari, who had been preoccupied with oil discoveries in the North for more than 40 years, appeared to be feeling a sense of accomplishment during the flag-off based on his body language. Nigerians have a right to know every detail about this oil plant, barring any ulterior motives.
Olakitan is a journalist. He wrote from Lagos
