The Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company, Mele Kyari, has announced that official oil drilling in Keana, Nasarawa State will begin from March 2023.
The NNPC group CEO disclosed this on Friday during an official visit by the Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, to the NNPC office in Abuja, according to Nairametrics.
Kyari stated that according to earlier exploratory activities there is a significant amount of oil in the state and the company was ready to do the necessary work to find the hydrocarbon resources therein.
He said, “This work must be done very fast because the whole world is walking away from fossil fuels due to the energy transition, the earlier you go to market, the better for you. Otherwise, 10 years from now, no one will agree to put money in the petroleum business unless it comes from your cash flow.”
However, Kyari’s announcement is not in tandem with an earlier announcement by the governor of the state, who had stated in December 2022, that oil will be produced in the state from 2026 or 2027.
NNPC first exploration in Nasarawa begun in April 2022, when it announced that it had deployed a team and they had started the process of drilling an enhanced well for the production of oil in the state.
Later on, the NNPC indicated that seismic acquisition for Oil Prospecting License 813A, Keana West in Nasarawa state, had been carried out, security assessment completed, 3D seismic data obtained and final deliverables received.
Aside from Keana local government area, the Nasarawa state governor had in Q3 2022, announced that oil and gas had been found in commercial quantities in the Agwatashi local government area as well as Obi local government area of the state.
