Crude oil discovered in Benue state

- With dwindling fortunes and the activities of
militants, the Nigerian government is seriously
looking at the possibility of oil in some states
apart from the Niger Delta
- While Lagos, one of the states that recently
discovered oil, is expecting to start receiving 13
percent derivation, Benue has found a quantity
Exploration activities in Benue state may be
gradually yielding success as a quantity of crude
oil has been discovered.
It is however not yet known if the discovery
would be of commercial quantity, but the deputy
governor of the state, Engr Benson Abounu, is
urging the federal government and the Nigerian
National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) not to
relent.

Oil exploration north
The excitement came as the sole administrator of
the Apa local government in the state, Danjuma
Solomon, visited the deputy governor to brief him
on the discovery of the product in his domain.

According to Solomon, oil seepage was
discovered in his local government.
He also spoke about the further discovery of
exploratory oil wells drilled in the 1960s by
Chevron Nig Ltd.
Engr Abounu said, based on results of several
geological investigations, the government was
convinced that the state had oil and that
exploration is just what was needed.

Benue News reports that Abounu urged the
federal government to intensify the search.
In August, 2016 President Muhammadu Buhari
reportedly ordered the Nigerian National
Petroleum Corporation to search for oil in state.