What next for north after 1 billion barrels of oil discovered, bigger prospects ahead

About one billion barrels of crude oil have been discovered in the north-east.

Minister of State for Petroleum Timi Sylva said this during at a press conference to mark the end of the 2020 Nigeria International Petroleum Summit in Abuja.

“From the evaluation results we are getting, the reserve that has been discovered in the north-east is about a billion barrels,” he said

But that is not enough, according to the minister.

There is need for more exploration to be undertaken.

“We  are seeing and we are beginning to understand the geological structure of the region.”

Oil has been a major curse, as many development analysts believe, on Nigeria. Its geo-politics, resource-control rebellion, over-dependence, and others have been chalked up as a major reason for under-development in Nigeria, the six largest oil producer in the world.

Now that the north, which has the worst under-development indices, is striking the black gold, many believe something will give: either the norh opposed to restructuring so far will be ready for it–or will not bother again about the unity of Nigeria.