There is oil in Niger State, Reps tell FG

House of Representatives at plenary session on Wednesday said that there was oil Bida Basin in Niger State.

The House therefore called the relevant federal agencies in the oil sector such as the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited to conclude the geophysical survey that the defunct Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) started to urgently establish the discovery and commence full exploration activities.

The call followed the consideration of a motion titled “Need to Fast-Track Geo-Physical Survey/Seismic Data Acquisition to Ascertain availability of
Hydro-Carbon in Commercial Quantity in the Bida Basin”, moved by Hon Saidu Musa Abdullahi.

Presenting the motion, Abdullahi said if the volume of oil in the Bida Basin is established and exploration activities commence fully, Nigeria may, in the near future, overtake Libya, the country with the largest oil reserve in Africa.

He also said that the House was expectant that the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources and its relevant Agencies would expedite
action for the continuation of the oil exploration activities at the Bida Basin Niger State and other Basins in the country.

He said: “The Bida Basin also known as the Mid-Niger Basin comprise of eight Local Government Areas including Mokwa, Lavun, Gbako, Bida, Katcha, Agaie, Edati and Lapai in the Southern part of Niger State which extends to two Local Government Areas in Kwara State and one in Kogi State.

“The Group Managing Director (GMD) of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) during a visit to the Executive Governor of Niger State, His Excellency, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello to unveil the 2D Seismic Data Acquisition in the Bida Basin in 2020, announced that the NNPC had commenced oil exploration activities in the Area and that the exploration could add 40 billion barrels to Nigeria’s oil reserves by 2023.

“The Group Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation responsible for the Frontier Exploration Services in 2020 noted that in-depth Geological and Geochemical studies revealed a strong presence of hydrocarbon-bearing indicators confirmed as oil and gas-bearing formations.

“The Seismic Data Acquisition Contract on the identified areas to determine the volume of the hydrocarbons in the Bida Basin was awarded to Integrated Data Services Limited and the China National Petroleum Corporation International Nigeria Limited by the NNPC Management.

“The House acknowledges that the discovery of oil in another region of Nigeria is good news for the country’s
energy sector and that if the volume of oil in the Bida Basin is established and exploration activities commence fully, Nigeria may, in the near future, overtake Libya, the country with the largest oil
reserve in Africa.

“The House is expectant that the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources and its relevant Agencies would expedite
action for the continuation of the oil exploration activities at the Bida Basin Niger State and other Basins in the country.

“The House is further aware that President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the NNPC Management to fast-track oil exploration across the country, following Shell’s discovery of hydrocarbons in the Chad Basin
and Kolmani River, while the NNPC heeded President Buhari’s directive on the Chad Basin as the people of Niger State are anxious about the slow pace of oil exploration activities in the Bida Basin”.

Ruling on the motion, the Speaker, Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila who presided over the plenary, mandated the joint Committees on Petroleum Resources (Upstream) and Legislative Compliance to ensure compliance to the resolution of the House.