The State Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed, had in August last year announced that crude oil had been discovered in Aran Orin town in Irepodun Local Government Area of the state by a farmer.

He said geologists from the state Ministry of Industry and Solid Minerals and the independent analysis of a private oil company had confirmed that the substance was crude and even identified the blend as Bonny Light, a high-grade of Nigerian crude oil preferred by European and American refineries due to its unique properties.

But a top official of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) told THISDAY yesterday that a detailed soil and sampling analysis by geologists and hydrocarbon experts has showed that the substance is not crude.

The source said the result of the analysis confirmed the agency's initial suspicion that what the Kwara State Government identified as oil was not it.

He said, following the announcement in August, the DPR office in Kwara visited the site and collected a sample of the substance for test.

"What we did was to send our operations team at the Kwara office to take the sample for analysis. Geologists and hydrocarbon experts were drafted by the DPR management at the Head office to do a thorough screening of the substance. In the end, it was discovered that the substance is not oil", he said.

The source explained that details of the analysis had been sent to the Kwara State government, adding that if they are not satisfied, the DPR will make a detailed presentation to them on how the analysis was carried out.

He affirmed that: "There is no hydrocarbon discovered in Aran Orin, as claimed by Kwara State Government. There is nothing like oil there. It is possible some mechanics had used that site in the past and when they saw something that looks like oil, they started shouting we have found oil. We have done a very good job, but if they are not satisfied, we will make a presentation to them to buttress that fact".

Also, a  source at the DPR's Kwara office, who craved anonymity confirmed that there is no hydrocarbon deposit in the state.

'The DPR constituted a management team from the Kwara office. We went to the site, took the sample and carried out some analysis on it. Our head office also constituted another management team to further analyse  the sample. This was done and the result sent to the head office. The Director had directed that the team should make presentation and the same result deliberated upon before it is released to the Kwara State government and then the public. Kwara has been very eager to know the outcome'' said the source privy to the findings.

But the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) had picked holes in the pronouncement, insisting that it was wrong for the Kwara Government to have done so when the DPR that should verify such a claim was yet to be contacted.

The corporation argued that it was not the duty of government officials or individuals to make pronouncements on oil discovery when no sample had been analysed.

"Even if oil was actually discovered there it is not their duty to go public with such information. It is the DPR that should be contacted and then experts will be sent there to analyse the soil sample", said NNPC.