16 months after flag-off-60, FG halts Kolmani oil drilling
Joseph Irikefe
Exploration of crude oil exploration activities at the Kolmani Oil Field has become dormant 16 months after a presidential inauguration of exploration activities on the site.
At the twilight of the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, precisely in November 2022, Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, in partnership with New Nigeria Development Company, started drilling crude oil at two oil blocks in Kolmani Oil Field, OPL809 and OPL810 accordingly.
Similarly, the projection of crude oil deposits in Kolamani, which traversed both Bauchi and Gombe states, was pegged at about one billion barrels of crude oil deposit and about 500bcf. Exploration on the field was expected to last up to 2060.
The Kolmani oil blocks were projected to generate about 50,000 barrels of crude oil every day.
However, a resident of the Kolmani area who does not want to be identified said that drilling on the site was suspended since the presidential inauguration and nothing tangible has been done.
“About a year ago, we saw how NNPCL moved most of the drilling equipment to Nasarawa State but since then nothing has been going on here. Some of the equipment was taken to Lake Chad, leaving Kolmani with virtually nothing,” he emphasised.
Of the five oil wells in Kolmani, only about two were developed.
Similarly, a bridge linking Kolmani communities with the outside world collapsed due to the movement of heavy-duty machines.
“About a few days ago, personnel from Sterling Global were seen trying to fix the bridge which raised our hope that exploration activities may soon continue. They have fixed the pillars of the bridge and, as I speak with you, a crane can be sighted working to lift the beams of the bridge,” he said.
Regarding security provisions, the Kolmani Oil Field boosts proactive security measures. Teams of personnel from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and Nigerian Army protect the area.
Meanwhile, both the NNPCL and Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources did not respond to enquiries about the abandonment of Kolmani oil exploration.