As northern states push for oil and gas exploration through the Frontier Exploration Fund, a new academy has been sited in Bauchi State, where the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) announced last week to resume exploration activities.

This followed President Bola Tinubu’s approval for the issuance of all critical regulatory licences for the Kolmani Integrated Development Projects.

For over three decades, the northern part of the country has been pushing to become an oil-producing region, with exploration ongoing in Nasarawa, Borno, and Gongola basin, which falls between Bauchi and Gombe.

To prepare the skill set necessary for possible commercial oil activities, the Minister of State for Petroleum (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, formally launched the construction of the permanent site for the Bauchi Oil and Gas Academy, Alkaleri (BOGAA).

The project, initiated by the Bauchi State Government, is seen as a strategic step towards supporting the Federal Government’s broader human capital development agenda for the oil and gas industry.
Lokpobiri described the development as Nigeria’s efforts to bolster local expertise in the energy sector.

At the flag-off, the minister described the Academy as a timely initiative aligned with Tinubu’s directive to maximise output from all viable oil platforms, including the Kolmani Integrated Development Projects.

According to him, a robust energy sector hinges not only on resource exploitation but on the skilled workforce capable of managing it. Commending Bauchi State’s proactive stance, he said, “the academy positions the state as a key player” in shaping Nigeria’s energy future.

The minister noted the role of institutions like the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) in equipping Nigerians for leadership in the energy space, and expressed optimism about future collaboration between PTDF and the new academy.

Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi reaffirmed the state’s commitment to the academy’s success, describing it as a hub for innovation and skills training with national impact.
The project is located between Bauchi and Gombe States, where the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) said oil search would resume.

Lokpobiri, during the flag off, said the Federal Government was targeting two million barrels of crude oil per day, the more reason it is intensifying oil and gas exploration across the country.

This was contained in a press statement the minister’s Special Adviser on Media and Communication, Nneamaka Okafor, issued yesterday. The imperative to activate all available oil platforms for increased production, he said, led Tinubu to approve the issuance of all the Kolmani project’s critical regulatory licences.