Security Beefed Up As Buhari Inaugurates Oil Drilling In North-East

Security has been stepped up at the Kolmani River II Oil Field, which is located in a border community between the states of Bauchi and Gombe for the Presidential Flag-Off of the Kolmani Integrated Development Project.

The official groundbreaking for Oil Prospecting Leases (OPLs) 809 and 810 at the Kolmani River II Well will be conducted by President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday.

A discovery of crude oil, gas, and condensate in the Kolmani River was declared by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited in October 2019.

After multiple attempts at crude oil prospecting on the Upper Benue Trough, the commercial quantity discovery was the first in the area.

Kolmani oil field

The New Nigeria Development Commission (NNDC), the NNPC Ltd., and Sterling Global Oil will jointly develop the oilfield.

The momentous occasion would mark the beginning of oil exploration and drilling in the northern oil field identified in 2019.

Numerous members of the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy, Nigerian Air Force, State Security Service, and Nigerian Police are reportedly stationed at the location.

The Federal Road Safety Corps, the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, and the Federal Fire Service are among the paramilitary organisations present on the ground.

On the scene are also NNPC Ltd. representatives, cabinet members, and a few medical teams with their supplies.
The governors of the states of Bauchi and Gombe, Bala Mohammed and Inuwa Yahaya, as well as other senior government officials, are anticipated to accompany the president, as will State Minister for Petroleum Resources Timipre Sylva.