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| Dr. Maikanti Baru |
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), is to return to Lake Chad Basin to continue with oil exploration.
Group Managing Director of NNPC, Dr. Maikanti Baru, who disclosed this on Wednesday, said with the release of staff of the corporation captured on their way to the exploration exercise in the area, the corporation will return “with full force” to continue with activities.
Baru who was speaking at the NNPC Day at the on going 39th edition of the Kaduna International Trade fair, said the corporation has also intensified exploration activities in the Benue trough.
According to him, the corporation will explore for oil in Benue, Nasarawa, Niger and Sokoto states, adding that with what the corporation has seen so far, it was sure of success.
He said the NNPC had been working tirelessly on the lake chad oil exploration, adding,“we thank the president for rescuing some of our lecturers that were involved in the exploration in the region. We are going back to the chad basin with full force.”
He said although the oil and gas industry has been the main stay of the Nigerian economy, providing 95 per cent of the nation’s foreign exchange, the major challenge in the country’s monoculture is that it exposes the nation to the vagaries of oil price volatility, which during a period of glut could spell doom for the country’s economy.
While emphasizing on the need for diversification of the country’s economy, Dr. Baru said “the feat achieved decades ago in mining, agriculture and commerce, which even sustained the economy of each region of the country, can be replicated if we re-channel the country’s productive sector”.
Furthermore, Baru said the NNPC is poised to provide enabling environment for the nation to optimize its commercial, industrial and agricultural potentials to attain competitive edge in these sectors. "This is a commitment which we shall continue to abide by," he said.
he also said: “To demonstrate our commitment, NNPC has set up the Renewable Energy Division that is focused in not only developing solar and other renewable energy sources, but also in the development of Biofuels that are heavily dependent on agricultural produce as feed stocks.
"The multiplier effects in such ventures are enormous - reviving the and revitalizing our agricultural sector, huge employments generation in millions, significant contributions to power generation, high volume of animals feed, starch and by products in addition to biofuels that will be blended to our refineries petroleum products that will significantly reduce imports of petroleum products into the country,” he noted.
The country, he said, needs to focus on undertaking holistic policy action towards rebuilding her infrastructure, which, he said, are not in the best of form.
Nonetheless, he said NNPC has taken steps to ensure that hiccups recently witnessed in the distribution of petroleum products are over come.
Some of the steps, according to him, include the full deployment and activation of 24 hours real time fuel war room for effective monitoring of fuel supply and distribution dynamics across the country; sustenance of 24 hours loading and sales operations in all depots and mega stations and collaboration with and sharing information with the oil industry regulators and other agencies in the ministry of Petroleum Resources.
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