Nigeria’s NNPC to explore in Lake Chad

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation will begin oil exploration in Lake Chad following a period of relative security in the area, local media reported on Friday.

NNPC will co-operate with the Nigerian Army, which has recently managed to restore peace in the region as part of its efforts against the Boko Haram insurgency, local news portal The Guardian said.

“The NNPC has seen a lot of prospects in the Chad Basin to commence exploration and drilling activities,” Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Chief Timipre Marlin Sylva was quoted as saying.

Read The Energy Year’s latest interview with Chief Timipre Marlin Sylva.

The shallow-water Lake Chad straddles the borders of Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon and Chad.

“We have found oil in [nearby] Gombe State and we believe that there is a lot of oil to be found in the Chad Basin,” Minister Chief Sylva said.

In September, Chadian officials asked UNESCO to delay registering Lake Chad as a world heritage site as the country seeks to explore for oil in the region.