Ogun State Government has disclosed that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) is set to begin oil and gas exploration in the State.
In an issued statement on Friday, the State government said the development would make its quest to become an oil-producing State materialise soon.
The statement noted that stakeholders in the oil and gas industry were received at the office of Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, and his Deputy, Noimot Salako-Oyedele, to discuss the prospect.
Speaking at the meeting, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, said Ogun State has always been part of the Dahomey Basin, with the prospect of having a huge deposit of hydro-carbons.
“We decided that we are going to resume exploration in the different Basins; we decided to come to Ogun State to reassure the people that we have very high potential of discoveries here”, he said.
“Ogun has always been part of the Dahomey Basin; and our presence underscore the seriousness the Federal Government attaches to the exploration activities that we want to carry out in Ogun State”.
Lokpobiri said the visit was also to demonstrate the commitment of the Federal Government to bolster its revenue through the oil and gas sector.
The Minister further said, “Today we are here to tell the people of the Federal Government’s commitment to ensuring that we continue our campaign and exploration activities across the country. We are doing this exploration activities in several places across Nigeria; and today, we are in Ogun, after which we will proceed to Sokoto State”.
On his part, NNPCL Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO), Mele Kyari, said Ogun State is blessed to be in the Dahomey Basin corridor, with expected high deposit of oil. He assured that the company would return in earnest to commence exploration activities.
Kyari also expressed hope that oil would be found in commercial quantity in the State.
In his remarks, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Gbenga Komolafe, said the team’s visit was to further indicate the commitment of the Federal Government to growing oil reserves and enhancing federation revenue. He said the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) makes provision for funding the development of the frontier basins.
Komolafe added that in line with the commitments of the government, the NUPRC is collaborating with the NNPCL to leverage on the PIA to carry out oil exploration in the Dahomey Basin.
In his response, Governor Abiodun said Ogun Dtate is part of the Oil Prospecting Leases (OPLs) 302, 303, 306, and 307.
He said numerous studies show the potential of the basins, highlighting the State’s potential for commercial success and economic benefits from exploration and production within a short time frame.
The Governor said the area presents an opportunity for Bitumen extraction, reducing import dependency and reducing foreign exchange expenditure on a single line item.
