When Bayo Ojulari, the newly appointed Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC, announced that preparations were underway to restart crude oil exploration at the Kolmani oil field on the Bauchi-Gombe border, the news was met with applause. After all, the northern region has long been touted as Nigeria’s next oil frontier. But beneath the celebration lies a troubling reality: over $3 billion has already been spent on exploration in northern basins — Kolmani, Chad, Upper Benue, with little to show for it.