Oil discovered in Nigeria's north

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ABUJA, Nigeria, Sept. 10 (UPI) -- Nigeria should court investors ready to help with the exploration of the oil reserves said to be in the country's Lake Chad basin, an executive said.

Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. Vice President Namadi Sambo said the company discovered oil within the basin. He called for the courting of "willing and ready investors that will facilitate speedy and timely exploration in the second phase of the exercise," reports Nigerian newspaper The Guardian.

Offshore Nigeria is an active region for oil explorers, though saboteurs have targeted those operations in a bid for a greater share of the benefits from the government. The government in July recommended a $5 billion fine for a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell for a spill at an oil field in the Niger Delta.

The Guardian describes the Lake Chad basin as a "hotbed of terror." Militant group Boko Haram aims to establish an Islamic state in northern Nigeria. The country is divided largely along the northern mostly Muslim are and southern mostly Christian region.

Nigeria gets almost all of its export earnings and about 40 percent of its government revenue from the oil sector. The report from The Guardian didn't outline a reserve potential in the Lake Chad region.