Ado Osereagbaje, the Managing Director of Heritage Energy Operational Services Limited (HEOSL), operator of the OML 30 Joint Venture between NNPC Exploration and Production and Shoreline Natural Resources Limited (NEPL/SNRL Joint Venture), has emphasized the need for more data on the Frontier Basins in Nigeria.
Ado made this call during his speech at the Nigeria annual international conference and exhibition (NAICE) organized by the Society of Petroleum Engineers (Nigeria Council), on Monday, 31st July, 2023 at Eko Hotel & Suites, Victoria Island Lagos.
In his words, Ado, who was represented by Adesola Adebawo, General Manager – Government, JV and External Relations said; “Nigerian frontier basins are said to constitute a huge storage of natural gas. This gas, if sustainably produced, would help Nigeria through the clean energy transition and enable her fill the gap left by declining fossil oil.” “It would require some creativity and motivation, including data on the part of the regulators to encourage investors to commit to the frontier basins in good number as those sedimentary basins there are generally considered high-risk and under-explored with a paucity of data” he added.
Ado reiterated his Company’s belief that the Nigerian oil and gas industry is significant in the global energy landscape. “At Heritage Energy Operational Services Limited (HEOSL), we believe that the Nigerian industry holds a prime place in the global energy landscape,” he added.
HEOSL is the operator of OML 30 Joint Venture between the NNPC Exploration and Production Limited (NEPL) and Shoreline Natural Resources Limited (SNRL), which is believed to be a prolific asset with huge potentials for contributing to Nigeria’s daily oil and gas output.
According to the Frontier Exploration Fund Administration Regulations, “Frontier basin” refer to basins where hydrocarbon exploration activities have not been carried out or previous commercial discovery oil and gas have not been made or an area that is undeveloped and includes Anambra, Dahomey, Bida, Sokoto, Chad and Benue trough or as may be declared by the Commission through a regulation.
Ado’s wishes might soon come through. Under the Petroleum Industry Act 2021 (PIA), the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) is saddled with the responsibility of establishing an information data base of all acreages comprising the frontier basins indicating the acreages that are licenced and the ones that are open by collecting all existing geographic, geological and geophysical data whether such data is with the National Data Repository, Nigerian Geological Survey Agency, any other governmental or private entity.
The regulator is also mandated to open a Frontier Exploration Fund escrow account where the NNPC is to transfer 30% of its profit oil and profit gas to be dedicated for the development of frontier acreages and utilise the funds to carry out exploration and development activities in the frontier acreages subject to appropriation by the National Assembly.
