Benin Republic Discovers Oil in Commercial Quantity through Danjuma’s Company
Busolami Idowu
The Republic of Benin on Thursday said it had discovered 87 million barrels of oil off its coast, a tiny amount compared to neighbouring Nigeria’s reserves, but which could boost the small country’s economy.
The Minister of Energy, Barthelemy Kassa, said: “We have discovered oil in a significant commercial quantity with Sapetro company which works on Block 1 of the sedimentary basin off Seme Podji coast.”
Sapetro is a Nigerian gas exploration and production company. Its chief executive, Daisy Danjuma, wife of a former Nigerian Minister of Defence, Theophilus Danjuma, said the first commercial oil production will begin in late 2014.
Kassa said the discovery would help to finance the country’s development projects. “It is a historic discovery for our country because this will enable us to finance our development projects.”
