Bida Basin

Bida Basin: A New Resort For Nigeria’s Oil Dilemma

Abdullahi Yusuf Tela

In February 12^th 2014, the report on the Bida basin hydrocarbon exploration research project carried out by the Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai with the support of the Niger state government was submitted to the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) for technical audit and peer review queries. Since then there has been blind and deaf ears as regards to the project.

It is no news that Nigeria has overtime dependently depend on the “almighty” petroleum since its fruitful discovery in Oloibiri, 1956. The economy of the country right from this discovery has been walking on the bed rock of crude oil exportation. In fact, petroleum (oil and gas) accounts for up to 95% Nigeria’s foreign earning and has remained the major supporter of its economy since it was first discovered in commercial value.

Forgetting all sectors of the economy, the petroleum sector, serves as forehead of the Nigerian economy. Nigeria as a country is blessed with fully endowed crude oil which can take almost 40 years before it dries up, if there is no additional petroleum reserve.

The predominant Niger Delta basin since its discovery has been the surviving and still the survival means for the country. Aside the dominant Niger Delta basin from which the country relies on for its economic survival, Nigeria is blessed with numerous other sedimentary basin comprising of Anambara, Bida,Sokoto, Borno (Chad) and Dahomey basin, Lagos basin as well as the Benue troughs. These basins according to the institutional research team have structural and stratigraphic similarities with the basins of Niger republic, Chad republic and Sudan where commercial oil accumulations have been disclosed.

Narrowing it down, the Bida basin as identified by a collaboration of the research team of IBB University and the support of the Niger state government can serve as another reservoir and source for crude oil in the country. The Bida basin has been noted by the research as a source for a reasonable amount of crude reservoir for the country.

Considering the chaotic environment of the Niger delta where the people continuously agitate and boast about the richly oil endowed region. The likes of the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND) and the Niger Delta Avengers are dominantly on the spheres of Nigeria not because of anything but because of the natural resources they enjoy.

Moreover, the formation and evolution of these regional groups is not the case but their consistent violent attacks and vandalisation of pipelines that links petroleum products is the problem. In recent times, the Niger Delta Avengers have claimed a number of deadly attacks on pipelines in the country. Not only pipelines, these self acclaimed regionalists and patriots of their region carry out numerous attacks on anyone that comes their way particularly the government. Thus, recently, they promised an un-enjoyable tenure for President Buhari who they even boast to kill some months back if he comes for the clearing of the Bonni Land.

However, with regards to all the aforementioned pugnacious behaviors of the richly and gifted oil region of Niger Delta, other prospects needs to be looked into. The Bida Basin is a NW-SE trending structure extending from slightly south of Kontagora in Niger state in the north to the area slightly beyond Lokoja (Kogi state) in the south. According to the preliminary report, all geological maps available on the Bida basin is an undifferentiated Nupe sandstone. Geochemical data, as stated in the preliminary geographical map shows that mainly gas and some oil would have been generated within the prospective and more prospective sections in the basin.

Furthermore, in realization of an oil producing state the Shekang Group of China visited Niger state within the period of 12-16^th June 2014 and was taken round the prospective areas in the Bida basin. Significantly, the group who expressed general satisfaction with the preliminary basinal assessment collected samples for further analysis in China.

In light of all these, to curtail the monopolization of oil in only one dominant region, more reservoirs like the Bida basin should be given much more attention so as to bring it into reality. Just as according to the research report, in order to meet the MOU agreement with Energy commission of Nigeria, Technical committee/IBBU will need to drill more data collection wells (core) at Makera (near Kontagora) and at Mokwa. Energy commission will drill at Gaba and Duba. Availability of more data will attract investors to acquire exploration blocks in the Basin.

In this regard, am calling on all stakeholders, government both state and federal, Nigerian National petroleum corporation (NNPC), its subsidiary the DPR and other related agencies to partner extensively to bring to limelight the Bida basin that is still a paper work. The necessary data needs to be generated, the appropriate drilling locations needs to be modeled and selected so as to ensure full exploration, exploitation and exportation of the basin.