By Musa Ilallah
Saturday November 16th this year was particularly memorable to me as i read through an opinion piece by a Daily Trust columnist titled “The deafening silence around Kolmani oil fields”. This is simply because the columnist spoke the minds of most nigerians who saw hope in the fortunes of Kolmani oil fields but regretably, staring ‘the faces of residents of many towns and villages around the Kolmani oil fields in Bauchi and Gombe states, and ither well neaning Nigerians, a dejection, disappointment and a feeling of abandonment.’
No one, not even naysayers, doubt the fact that Former President Buhari had during his 8 years in office done his best to move the country forward in his 3 thematic campaign promises of improving the Economy, improving security and taming corruption.
Sadly, after the initial pomp and pageantry that joyfully welcomed the commencement of exploration activities in the area, it now looks like the project is at standstill with no sign of any progress since then.
In line with his policies and programmes to improve the economic fortunes of the country,
Tiday, even individuals, property developers, who showed interest in acquiring lands from the locals around the oil field for hotels, residential houses and malls, have since realised that the initial interest shown on the project by government had faded.
Oil exploration at the Kolmani project, which was flagged off by then President Muhammadu Buhari as an Integrated Development Project, was described as a ‘significant milestone for Nigeria’s energy industry, with the potential to produce 50,000 barrels of oil per day.’
The project had so far attracted over $3 billion in foreign direct investment.
Undoubtedly, like Former President Buhari said while commending the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL and its partners for the successful discovery of oil and gas in the Kolmani River Field, the project’s significance in achieving energy security, financial security, and overall socio-economic development of the country, cannot be overemphasised.
Buhari used the occasion to describe the day as important in the economic history of the nation, as it heralds the production of oil and gas in the Upper Benue trough.
According to the provisions of the Production Sharing Contract, PSC, the NNPC is the concessionaire of the blocks, while the NNPC Exploration and Production Limited, NEPL and New Nigeria Development Company Limited, NNDC are the contractor parties.
AOML Consortium signed a strategic partnership with the contractors to provide funding and technical capabilities for the integrated oil and gas development project and to be compensated from the contractor’s oil profit after commencement of operations.
Equally, there was an integrated development plan, which guarantees evacuation and monetisation route for the hydrocarbon in the location, thereby eliminating the high cost and burden of building crude and product pipelines.
Kolmani River was discovered in 1999 and it lies in block OPL 809 and OPL 810.The field is owned by Northern Nigeria Development Company, NNDC.
Production from the Kolmani River conventional oil development project was expected to begin in 2025 and is forecast to peak in 2028, Based on economic assumptions, the production will continue until the field reaches its economic limit in 2060. All that is now history with no signs that work on the site will recommence soon.
The people of Bauchi and Gombe and indeed all northerners strongly believed that a jinx had been broken, that the region, which is being described in certain quarters as “parasitic”, will also start contributing significant funds to the table of the Federal Accounts Allocation Committee, FAAC.
One can vividly recall the many attempts in the past to explore oil around Borno, including the one in May, 2023, when the Wadi-B oil and gas exploration campaign was flagged off in Jere Local Government Area of the state, with the objective of adding three billion barrels to Nigeria’s reserves by 2030. Till today, this remains on the drawing board.
Also worthy of mention is the Wadi-B well, which is located in Tuba community of the same Jere LGA, 50 kilometres away from Maiduguri, the state capital.
Those events marked the formal resumption of physical efforts for oil and gas in the Chad Basin area, considering that prospecting activities especially in northern part of Borno were halted following serious onslaught by the Boko Haram terrorists.
In retrospect, the search for oil in the region began in the 70s, but due to political and other mundane factors, none of the efforts has seen the light of the day.
The Kolmani exploration should be a national priority and must not be abandoned. Government is a continuum and President Bola Tinubu should re-mobilise the contractors and investors to site.
The promise made to the people and the communities must be kept. It would strengthen the trust in government by the people.
Nigerians need to be constantly updated on its status, the level of commitment and the next steps. It should be taken as a national project. The president and other stakeholders must show the political will to ask the contractors to return to site.
I wish to seize this opportunity to appeal to our dear President and Commander in Chuef of the Armed Forces, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu to ensure that this money spinner for the country does not join the long queue of abandoned projects because of its strategic economic and social importance to the country and her nationals.
Ilallah wrote in from Abuja
