NNPC raises hope on oil find in Chad Basin

• Targets $20b fresh investment into operations
GOING by the analysis on recent 3D data generated from the Chad Basin, Nigeria seems moving closer to discovering oil in commercial quantity in the Basin, the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, has disclosed.

A statement by the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of the NNPC, Ohi Alegbe, quoted Kachikwu as saying this while delivering a paper titled, “Ongoing Reforms in the Oil Industry: Impact of NNPC Reforms on the Nigerian Economy.”

The NNPC boss stressed that the Corporation is injecting a lot of energy into the effort to ensure success in the search.

“There are signs from the latest 3D seismic studies that oil may well be very close to being found now in Lake Chad after many years of trials. I think this is very key. It is key both for the geographical balancing of oil production and it is also very key for the purpose of r efinery placement in the North in terms of access to crude. I am optimistic that by the end of the year we should be able to announce something major on this,” the GMD said.

Dr. Kachikwu noted that in driving and developing Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, certain key areas of urgent intervention have been identified thus: Running production acreages with transparent and profitable partnerships to bridge capacity and funding gaps; encourage investment inflow into Nigeria’s oil and gas industry; engagement with local communities and driving regulation to develop the sector income – via encouragement of the fast track PIB to clarify direction and encourage long-term investment in the industry.

Providing specifics on the intervention targets, Kachikwu stated that the NNPC is projecting the inflow of $20 billion in 2016 to enable the Corporation fund major projects. He described 2016 as a crucial year for the NNPC as it is expected to transit from historic loss environment to profit making domain.

In the area of engagement with host communities, Kachikwu stated that the years ahead NNPC as the senior partner in the various Joint Venture arrangements must take leadership in fostering a healthy and symbiotic host community engagement outlook, which must focus in what he termed, “What the communities want us to do for them and not what we want to do.”

Commenting on the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), the NNPC GMD noted that to achieve quick passage of the bill, it is crucial to isolate the fiscal regime from the current draft and move quickly to work on other pressing aspects of the proposed oil reform legislation.