Nigeria begins drilling campaign on Chad basin

Nigeria has spudded the first well in a drilling campaign on the onshore Chad basin in Borno State, NOC NNPC announced on Tuesday.

The drilling campaign began with the Wadi-B probe located on the OPL 732 concession in the Jere local government area.

The well is being drilled by the Acme-5 rig to depths of around 4,270 metres. The prospect sits on a previously targeted area that is estimated to hold 943 million barrels of oil in place.

“This is an event that will reinforce the government’s commitment to exploration in the nation’s frontier basins, primarily aimed at increasing the nation’s hydrocarbon reserves,” said Mele Kyari, Group CEO of NNPC.

This represents the first Nigerian well spud on the Chad basin since 1995.

The prospect is located along Nigeria’s north-east border.

It is the largest endorheic basin in Africa and spans the following eight countries: Algeria, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Libya, Niger, Nigeria and Sudan.