The Federal Government through the Ministry of Petroleum Resources has said it planned to up Nigeria’s oil reserves to 40 billion barrels by 2025 from its current 37 billion barrels.
Chief Timipre Silva, the Minister of Petroleum Resources, disclosed this on Tuesday at the official ground-breaking of the Oil Prospecting Licenses (OPLs) 809 and 810 at the Kolmani River II well located at a border community between Bauchi and Gombe states.
President Muhammadu Buhari inaugurated Kolmani Integrated Development Project with some top officials including governors, cabinet members, captains of industry and Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd. (NNPCL) officials, among others in attendance.
He said he was particularly excited at the partnership between NNPCL, Sterling Global Oil, and New Nigeria Development Commission (NNDC), to carry out the drilling campaign.
“This is a testimony of the fact that the hydrocarbons sector still holds promise of returns on investment, highlighting the role that this resource will continue to play in the global energy mix,” Sylva said.
He recalled that in 2019 when the NNPC announced that it had encountered oil in ‘commercial quantities’ at the Kolmani River well II, the nation celebrated the news as a fitting outcome for years of geological investigations.
“In spite of the enormity of challenges that NNPC was confronted with, the day has come when we can collectively witness and celebrate drilling for hydrocarbons in the North of our dear country,” he said.
He said the ministry was committed to finding and developing ways to end energy poverty, create shared prosperity and enthrone sustainable development.
