From Abubakar Abdullahi, in Lafia
Tuesday March 28, 2023 was an important day in the history of oil industry in Nigeria particularly to the people of Nasarawa state when former President Muhammadu Buhari inaugurated the first oil drilling of the Ebenyi-A Exploration Well located in the Middle Benue Trough in Obi Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.
Ex-President Buhari said the new oil discovery was in line with the then administration campaigns to explore crude oil and gas in the nation’s frontier basins.
The exploration drive, according to him, included the Chad Basin, Dahomey Basin, Anambra Platform, the Calabar Embankment, Sokoto Basin, Bida Basin, Benue Trough, as well as the Ultra-Deepwater Niger Delta.
“Today’s occasion marks the official commencement of exploration drilling activities in the Middle Benue Trough.
“I am encouraged by the enormous work done by NNPC Limited to exploit the prospects in the Middle Benue Trough, leading to the event of today,”
Buhari expressed pleasure with the positive outcomes of the drilling campaigns, which he said would lead to greater prosperity for Nigerians and especially enhance overall energy security.
Inauguration of this gigantic project came with joy and happiness not only to the surrounding communities who would particularly benefit from the value created by the exploration and the eventual production activities but the entire country.
Surrounded by several farming communities, the site setting and commencement of oil exploration in the area created additional economic activities due to the influx of workers and other citizens that engaged in one form of activity or the other.
CitizenshipDaily observed during its visit to the Ebenyi-A Oil Exploration Site almost one and half year after the inauguration that there is indication that the oil drilling is halted for sometime as the chimney was without usual fire coming out from it.
It was a journey of over 20 kilometers from Obi, the headquarters of the local government hosting the oil site. On the road were about 10 security checkpoints that are managed by the NNPCL Security and conventional security personnel including the military.
When Citizenship Daily reporter approached the gate of the drilling site, it was under lock and key without anybody seen going in or coming out of the site, except a few security guards guarding the place.
It was also observed that being an agrarian community, farmers were seen at different ends of the site fence carrying out farming activities.
Few staff working on site were seen moving in and out of the staff quarters of the NNPCL located about one and half kilometers before the drilling site.
In an effort to get into the site for the purpose of getting the current position of the activities at the site, a staff of the organization who spoke on condition of anonymity said non staff could not have access into the site based on instruction from superiors officers.
He said even if our reporter could have access to the site, nobody would be ready to talk to him on the current position of the oil drilling.
According to him “the engineers can explain to you the reason for the stoppage of work in the site.”
The source confirmed that oil drilling has not been on for months.
He told this reporter that “the site is under lock and key and the truth is that virtually apart from we that are left here taking care of the place, nothing like oil exploration is ongoing.”
He said “really immediately after the inauguration oil exploration activities commences but stops a few months later.”
A resident of the oil exploration community, Mathew Dato said many residents of the area were in a joyful mood when the oil drilling started because it raised their hope and expectations on joining other developing communities as seen in the construction of roads and provision of solar light to the community.
He said before the coming of the NNPCL activities, the area was facing lack of road challenge causing the residents to spend hours to and from Obi the headquarters of the local government hosting the oil drilling site but they now spend less than an hour on the same journey depending on the speed of the vehicle.
Dato Said “commencement of oil drilling brought about some development which we did not expect to have in long distant time but in less than a year we have a good motorable road that reduces the hours journey for us.”
He maintained that “the solar factory lights provided by the NNPCL that ease the charging of our mobile phones improve our welfare.”
Dato asserted that they’re expecting to have other social amenities like pipe borne water, hospital and even join with the national grid to enjoy electricity like other communities in the country only for them to notice that the company has stopped the oil drilling for a reason yet to be known by the people of the community.
On her part, an aged woman in the area Ladi Abu said her children together with others used to work in the company and all of a sudden, the work stopped for months.
“When I saw them stop to work there, I asked whether it was because they wanted to do farming since the rainy season had started. They said no, there was no work in the company now.”
“They could not explain why activities stopped in the company because according to them, nobody explained the reason to them.”
Abu said the existence of the company improved the economy of their children and other residents of the area because it increased their income compared to when the company was not in existence and now that it has stopped working.
Also speaking, a resident of the area, Richard Shagwan whose village is very close to the company, said when the company stopped working, people of the area tried to make enquiry on why is was no longer functioning as expected. Some workers informed them that the drilling rig got broken but efforts are on to repair and continue to work.
He drew attention to the sound of the machine which he said some of the workers were warming.
The residents appealed for the company to do what is needed to return in order to give people the hope of completion and benefiting from it.
Speaking a day after the inauguration of the Ebenyi-A Oil Exploration, Nasarawa state Governor, Abdullahi Sule, explained how the discovery of crude oil will benefit the people in the North Central state.
Governor Sule said some young residents of the state have been employed in the process.
He said, “When we went to the site, my excitement was to see that on top of that (oil) rig, were youths from Nasarawa State that have been employed already by the company.
“They are not just gaining employment; they are gaining experience. These are people who have never seen an oil and gas operation before.
“Today, they are working on a rig. So, we are getting them trained, they are getting the experience and we are getting the advantage about the economic empowerment that is there,”
The assertion of the state governor also gave residents the confidence that the company is a life changer, but with the stoppage of work, do people still retain the confidence that the company is ready to bring back the people’s hope on their expectations from the activities of NNPCL in Nasarawa state?
