ABUJA, July 27 (Xinhua) -- The Nigerian government on Thursday said it has suspended the exploration of crude oil in the Lake Chad Basin due to attacks by terror group Boko Haram.
The decision by the Nigerian government to suspend its oil exploration around the Lake Chad Basin ostensibly followed a recent ambush on the workforce of the state-run oil corporation and some military personnel by Boko Haram.
The country's oil minister Ibe Kachikwu, while announcing the government's decision, told reporters in Abuja that the Boko Haram ambush was regretted.
He said no oil exploration will happen at the site anytime soon until "sufficient security clearance" was obtained from the military.
According to him, the national oil corporation had obtained a security clearance from the military before embarking on its exploration last Tuesday.
A total of 18 soldiers and four drivers of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation were killed in the ambush, according to local media.
Twenty more local people were also reportedly killed during the attack on the area.
Encouraged by the commercial oil found in the neighboring Chad Republic, Nigeria had embarked on the oil search on the orders of President Muhammadu Buhari to focus and intensify its exploratory work in the inland basins on the Chad Basin. Enditem
