AFRICA ( commonwealth Union ) _The Middle Benue Trough’s Ebenyi-A Exploration Well in the Nasarawa State local government of Obi was formally inaugurated by President Muhammadu Buhari. Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd. was forewarned by Buhari and its partners to take proper care of the environmental consequences of the oil exploration operations and to mitigate the negative effects during his virtual spud-in ceremony of the Well.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), among others, the spud-in ritual for Buhari was carried out by Nasarawa State Governor Abdullahi Sule and Group CEO of NNPCL Mele Kyari. A few royal fathers, the Emir of Lafia, Bage Muhammad, and Gbenga Komolafe, the CEO of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), were also present.
According to Mr. Buhari, the president of Nigeria, says that the recent oil finding was consistent with ongoing efforts to explore gas and crude oil in the country’s Frontier Basins. He went on to say that these included the Benue Trough, the Ultra-Deepwater Niger Delta, the Chad Basin, the Dahomey Basin, the Anambra Platform, the Calabar Embankment, the Sokoto Basin, and the Bida Basin.
The NNPCL, the NUPRC, and other collaborators were thanked by the president for their important efforts that made the exploration possible. The president expressed satisfaction with the drilling campaigns’ good results, which he claimed would increase Nigerians’ prosperity and, in particular, their country’s overall energy security.
Mr. Buhari further added that the value produced by the exploration and ultimate production activities would help the local communities in particular. He also expressed his appreciation for the host community’s unrestricted assistance and cooperation in making the exploration endeavor successful as well as to the government and people of Nasarawa. According to the International Monetary Fund, 70% of Nigeria’s government revenue and over 90% of its foreign currency earnings come from crude oil exports.
