Barely three days after the ground-breaking ceremony of commercial oil drilling in Bauchi and Gombe states was performed, Niger State governor, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello has disclosed that there are proven presence of commercially viable Hydrocarbon in Niger State, even as the country needed $10 billion annually to achieve energy transition plan by year 2060 .
The governor and the minister of state for petroleum resources, Timipre Sylva made the disclosures at the 7th Meeting of National Council on Hydrocarbons with the theme; “Roadmap and Strategic Option Towards Achieving Energy Transition in Nigeria,” held in Minna.
The governor said, “As you might be aware, there is a proven presence of commercially viable hydrocarbons in Niger State. The preliminary surveys carried out both by the state and the Federal Government shows the presence of hydrocarbons in the Bida Basin.”
“Consequently, in an effort to explore and harness the hydrocarbon opportunities in Bida basin, Niger State Government under our leadership has engaged Whitepages International Company Limited as a consultant in collaboration with the Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University. Lapai and Federal University of Technology, Minna and results have been impressive,” he further disclosed.