The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Timipre Sylva has identified the Calabar and Anambra basins as part of frontier territories entitled to 30% profit from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited oil and gas production profit, as contained in the newly signed Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
The minister’s clarification came on the heels of Benue Governor Ben Ayade’s complaints that the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) shortchanged Cross River state and failed to address Cross River’s concerns despite his presentations to the relevant senate committee.
According to Sylva, the frontier basins were not in a particular region of the country, as Anambra, Calabar and the Lake Chad basins are also part of them.
The other frontier basins are: Chad, Bida (Niger state), Dahomey (near Benin Republic), Sokoto, Benue, Gongola (around Adamawa and Taraba) and Niger Delta, Utra Deep Offshore. The Niger Delta is a mature basin
Also countering the federal character question raised in the composition of the steering committee on the PIA, Sylva noted that he represented the Southsouth, while the Northwest, Southwest and even South East were represented.
Also speaking on the slow development of gas stations despite imminent removal of petrol subsidy, the minister stated that they will liaise with the Central Bank of Nigeria to provide funding for the production of gas.
