Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, says the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is set to resume oil exploration in the Lake Chad Basin.
He spoke to newsmen after a meeting on Chad Basin with the Chief of Army Staff and commanders of Nigerian Army on Thursday in Maiduguri.
The oil search was suspended and NNPC Frontier Exploration Services officials and their consultants from the University of Maiduguri were attacked on July 25, 2017.
Some members of the team were kidnapped.
Sylva said the resumption was due to successes recorded by the military in securing the northeast region.
“The reason we came here is to thank the Chief of Army Staff and the Nigerian Army for the great job they have continued to perform in the North East. We want to commence exploration and drilling activities because we believe that there is relative peace.
“We have found oil in Gombe State and we believe that there is a lot of oil to be found in the Chad Basin. That is why we are collaborating with the Nigerian Army to ensure that security is provided for activities to commence very soon,” he added.
The meeting was attended by NNPC Group Managing Director, Mele Kyari, and top staff of the corporation and the ministry.
Others were Commander, Operation Lafiya Dole, Maj.-Gen. Farouk Yahaya, Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) counterpart, Maj.-Gen. Yusuf Ibrahim, and senior officers.
