The group managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Ibe Kachikwu has said that Nigeria is an inch closer to finding crude oil in Chad Basin.
Kachikwu made this announcement during a presentation to the Petroleum Club, Lagos.
According to a statement by the corporation’s spokesman, Ohi Alegbe, Kachikwu while speaking on “Ongoing Reforms in the Oil Industry: Impact of NNPC Reforms on the Nigerian Economy” said “There are signs from the latest 3D seismic studies that oil may well be very close to being found now in Lake Chad after very many years of trials. I think that 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 refinery 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.”
He identified running production acreages with transparent and profitable partnerships to bridge capacity and funding gaps as the key areas of urgent intervention in the Oil sector.
He added that fast-tracking of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) to clarify direction and encourage long-term investment in the industry.