Oil drilling in Northern Nigeria: How not to reproduce the experience of the Niger Delta

Oil drilling has commenced in the North East of Nigeria after several years of massive investment, especially by the administration of President Buhari, to find oil in Northern Nigeria. At the end of the frontier oil exploration project, there was a discovery of a large quantity of oil and gas reserves in the Kolmani river basin which lies between Bauchi and Gombe States, Nigeria. The new oil spot is said to have up to 1 billion barrels of crude oil reserve and 500 million cubic feet of natural gas deposit. This finding is good news even as hydrocarbons are quickly losing their importance, and the global community is diversifying energy sources. The estimated phase-out period for fossil fuel and gas production is 2034 for developed countries and 2050 for developing countries. Thus, Nigeria can take advantage of the remaining years before the phase-out window for developing countries to build resources for integration into cleaner energy. Besides and more importantly, the oil drilling experience and the oil economy’s overall impact in the Niger Delta should be prevented in the oil fields of North East Nigeria.

Click on the link to download