Article Summary
- Nasarawa state governor says the drilling campaign in the Ebenyi-1 well is almost complete.
- The drilling campaign began in March 2023.
- The governor said that Nasarawa state may have hydrocarbon discoveries in three different local government areas (LGAs) – Keana, Obi, and Assakio.
The Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Abdul Sule, has said that the Obi well drilling campaign is nearing completion.
He said this during an interview on Tuesday night via Arise TV. During the interview, the governor made it known that the level of progress in the Ebenyi-1 well drilling campaign in the Obi local government area has gone far and is almost complete.
Recall that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited successfully spudded the well located in the Obi local government area of the state on Tuesday, March 28, 2023. While speaking on Arise TV on Tuesday night, Governor Sule said:
- “The level of progress has gone far and has almost been completed because this is a well that is roughly over 18,000 meters (3 kilometers) and the rig has been working efficiently. I have been there a couple of times, and the people in the communities have been very cooperative. From all indications, there are no problems in that area.”
Governor Sule also said that the hydrocarbon deposits found in various areas of Nasarawa State are under the Benue trough. According to him, the trough begins in Calabar, goes through Benue all the way to Nasarawa, Plateau, and extends all the way to Gombe State.
The governor also highlighted the fact that the hydrocarbon deposits in Nasarawa State were found as far back as 2010. This was when the geographic acquisition was made and the presence of hydrocarbons was discovered in the state.
According to him, the hydrocarbon deposits were first discovered in Keana, and then a significant amount of oil and gas was discovered in Obi as well. Then it was decided that the drilling campaign would take place in Obi LGA. He said:
- “In the end, Nasarawa State may have hydrocarbon discoveries in three different local government areas (LGAs) – Keana, Obi, and Assakio.”
He cited the hydrocarbon discoveries being made in Nasarawa, Borno, and Gombe as similar to the discoveries made in the northern part of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, of up to 1 billion to 10 billion barrels capacity.
According to him, the Wadi-B well in Jere LGA of Borno State has an estimated 900 million barrels, while Gombe has an estimated roughly a billion barrels, and Nasarawa has an estimated over a billion barrels of oil.
What next?
The Nasarawa state governor noted that a lot of work still needs to be done in Nasarawa regarding oil and gas development. He said after the appraisal well is drilled, a development plan will be worked on, and funding for the project will be required.
He however, stated that with the further development of the oil and gas assets and the startup of the Dangote refinery, the issue of fuel subsidy will come to an end, and the corruption in the fuel/petrol value chains will also be put to an end.
He cited the Dangote refinery project as a major game changer in Nigeria. According to him, the refinery has a 435 MW power plant and can supply electricity to some neighbouring communities in Lagos State.
