The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) has announced that oil drilling at the Kolmani field, located on the border of Bauchi and Gombe States, will resume in June 2025.
Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Ltd, Bayo Ojulari, disclosed this in an interview with BBC Hausa on Monday. He emphasized that both the Kolmani crude oil drilling and the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) gas pipeline are key national projects that will significantly boost the Nigerian economy.
“NNPC will continue drilling at the Kolmani field and also resume work on the AKK gas pipeline from Ajaokuta to Kaduna and Kano,” Ojulari said. “The companies working on these projects will continue, and new ones are welcome. By next month, the work will visibly begin, Insha Allah.”
The Kolmani project was officially launched in 2022 as the first oil drilling initiative in Northern Nigeria to yield commercial quantities. The NNPC said the oil and gas discovery in the Gongola Basin has already attracted $3 billion in investments, with over one billion barrels of oil and 500 billion cubic feet of gas discovered.
Ojulari also confirmed that the longstanding dispute between NNPC and the Dangote Refinery has been resolved.
“We must commend Dangote’s bold investment efforts. He is investing in Africa, and we are now cooperating. The disagreement between NNPC and the Dangote Refinery has been addressed. We are now working together in the interest of Nigerians,” he stated.
According to him, fuel marketers will soon be able to purchase petroleum products directly from the Dangote Refinery without restrictions. He assured that any challenges going forward would be swiftly resolved.
