Members of Nigeria’s Bauchi State House of Assembly have expressed concerns over the abrupt halt in crude oil exploration at the Kolmani oil field, located on the border between Bauchi and neighbouring Gombe states.
In November 2022, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), in partnership with New Nigeria Development Company, initiated drilling operations at two oil blocks in the Kolmani Oil Field, OPL809 and OPL810.
The estimated crude oil deposits at Kolmani, spanning both Bauchi and Gombe, were projected at about one billion barrels of crude oil and approximately 500 billion cubic feet (bcf) of gas. Exploration at the field was expected to continue until 2060, with daily production anticipated to reach 50,000 barrels of crude oil.
According to a media report in the region, the Speaker of the Bauchi House of Assembly Abubakar Suleiman, during a House plenary session, presented a motion urging the Bauchi State Government to engage with federal stakeholders to resume crude oil exploration at the Kolmani site.
Suleiman lamented that drilling had been suspended since the departure of former President Muhammadu Buhari, and noted that no progress had been made since then.
The Speaker highlighted that in 2023, the NNPCL relocated most of its drilling equipment to Nasarawa State and the Lake Chad region, effectively halting operations at Kolmani.
He called on both Houses of Assembly in two states to form a joint committee to visit the Minister of Petroleum Resources, NNPCL, and the North East Development Commission (NEDC) to investigate the reasons for the suspension and advocate for the immediate resumption of activities at the site.
