By Eyo Nsima

President Muhammadu Buhari has flagged off the Kolmani Integrated Development Project in Bauchi State marking the beginning of efforts, targeted at the commercial exploitation of oil in Northern Nigeria.

The oil reserves of the field are estimated at about one billion barrels of crude oil, OPL 809 and 810, lying in the Gongola Basin of the Upper Benue Trough, straddling Bauchi and Gombe states.

The blocks are owned by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Africa Oilfield movers Limited, and SEEPCO as partners and are expected to produce 50,000 barrels of oil per day during the first phase.

Speaking at the event, President Buhari said the successful discovery of the Kolmani Oil and Gas field by NNPC and her partners has finally broken the jinx record with the confirmation of huge commercial deposits of hydrocarbons in the Kolmani River field.

He said: “Considering the landlocked location and the huge capital requirement, the economics of the project is a challenging proposition. Consequently, from the onset, I instructed NNPC Limited to utilize and leverage its vast asset portfolio across all corridors of its operations to de-risk the project to attract the much-needed investment. I have directed NNPC to continue along these lines.

“It is therefore to the credit of this administration that at a time when there is near zero appetites for investment in fossil energy, coupled with the location challenges, we are able to attract investment of over USD 3 billion to this project”.

Similarly, the Minister of State Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva noted that the Buhari government is determined to end energy poverty in the country while creating shared prosperity for all Nigerians.

Also speaking, the Governors of Bauchi and Gombe states, Sen. Bala Mohammed and Muhammad Yahaya assured investors of the security in the area.

However, the Group CEO, of NNPCL, Mallam Mele Kyari disclosed that being an integrated project, the first phase will entail an in-stu oil refinery of up to 120,000 barrels per day capacity, a gas processing plant of up to 500 million standard cubic feet per day, a power plant of up to 500 Megawatts capacity, and a fertilizer plant of 2,500 tons per day.

He said in another phase of the project, “there will be a downstream oil terminal/depot for offtake and distribution of the white products coming out of the refinery and further development of the integrated project”.

The event was attended by the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, and APC presidential candidate in the 2023 General elections, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, as well as many governors of Northern states.