One billion barrels of oil discovered in north-east Nigeria

Nigeria’s minister of state for petroleum resources has announced that approximately one billion barrels of crude oil have been discovered in the north-eastern part of the country. 

Timipre Sylva issued the statement at a news conference to mark the end of the 2020 Nigeria International Petroleum Summit (NIPS) in Abuja on Wednesday. 

The minister added that more oil was still to be found in the country, pressing the need for further exploration. 

Mr Syvla also took the opportunity to comment on the upcoming Petroleum Industry Bill, which he said he was confident would pass by June. The new bill would provide a more comprehensive legal framework for oil investments that would be further in line with global standards.

The minister said that this legislation was sorely needed in order to grow investments in Nigerian oil.

“If nobody knows when laws will be passed, nobody will want to invest new capital in Nigeria. And that is why you see that we have almost been stagnant in the Nigerian oil industry”, he said. 

Mr Sylva also indicated that the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt refinery - the largest in Nigeria - would begin in the first quarter of 2020. 

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