Following the attack staged by Boko Haram members against its workers and military, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation has suspended its exploration for crude oil in the Lake Chad Basin in parts of Borno State.
Revealing this in Abuja while speaking with journalists, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu, said the search for oil will no longer continue until the corporation gets sufficient clearance to resume its oil search in the region from the military.
While commiserating with the families of those whose loved ones were killed by the insurgents, Kachikwu said it was necessary to stop the exploration to avoid further loss.
The commercial oil found in neighboring Chad Republic had encouraged the NNPC, on the orders of President Muhammadu Buhari, to intensify and focus its exploratory work in the inland basins on the Chad Basin and Benue Trough areas.
In November 2016, it resumed exploration activities in Gubio; Magumeri; Monguno; Kukawa; Abadam; Guzamala; and Mobar, after getting security advice from the military.
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