As buyers start registration for the 2024 Licensing Spherical, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Fee has eliminated 5 oil blocks from the continued licensing spherical due authorized disputes.
The 5 oil blocks are mentioned to be underneath numerous litigation.
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Fee confirmed the event.
The affected belongings are PPL3008, PPL3009, PML51, PPL267, and PPL268.
The PUNCH studies that the 5 blocks had been among the many 12 initially introduced by the NUPRC Chief Govt, Gbenga Komolafe, on the Miami Worldwide Roadshow for the 2024 licensing spherical hosted by the NUPRC in collaboration with the Petroleum Know-how Affiliation of Nigeria and Zetse Advisory & Consulting.
The 12 oil blocks initially listed by Komolafe had been PPL 300-CS; PPL 301-CS; PPL 3008; PPL 3009; PPL 2001; PPL 2002; PML 51; PPL 267; PPL 268; PPL 269; PPL 270; and PPL 271.
Nevertheless, whereas saying that the belongings on provide could be elevated, the NUPRC mentioned 5 others had been eliminated due to authorized disputes.
“Attributable to newly acquired information from the Multiclients, the Belongings on provide within the ongoing Licencing Spherical will likely be elevated.
“Nevertheless, PPL3008, PPL3009, PML51, PPL267, PPL268 have been faraway from the Bid course of on account of ongoing litigation,” the NUPRC mentioned in a discover.
The NUPRC added, “Additionally, in accordance with the printed pointers, we now have earlier indicated that a number of the belongings on provide needs to be utilized as a single unit, specifically: PPL 300-CS & PPL 301-CS, PPL 2000 and PPL 2001.”
Officers of the fee didn’t reply to inquiries from our correspondent on who the litigants are and the explanations for the litigation.
Our correspondent studies that the fee didn’t point out whether or not or not the 5 affected belongings are out of the 17 on provide.
In the meantime, the NUPRC boss had in a press release introduced the addition of 17 deep offshore oil blocks to the 2024 licensing spherical.
“In pursuit of the fee’s dedication to derive worth from the nation’s considerable oil and fuel reserves and improve manufacturing, the fee has been working assiduously with multi-client corporations to undertake extra exploratory actions to accumulate extra information to foster and encourage additional funding within the Nigerian upstream sector.
“Because of extra information acquired in respect of deep offshore blocks, the fee has added 17 deep offshore blocks to the 2024 Licensing Spherical,” Komolafe mentioned in a press release just lately.
The NUPRC boss additionally said that to permit buyers to make the most of the expanded alternatives, the 2024 Licencing Spherical schedule had been amended.
He mentioned, “Registration/submission of pre-qualification paperwork which was initially scheduled to shut on June 25, 2024, has been prolonged by 10 days and can now shut on July 5, 2024.
“Information entry/information buy/analysis/bid preparation and submission which was initially scheduled to open on July 4, 2024, and shut on 29/11/24 will now begin on July 8, 2024, and shut on 29/11/24 as beforehand scheduled.
“All different dates within the printed 2024 licencing spherical schedule stay the identical except in any other case communicated.”
Through the pre-bid convention held just lately in Lagos, it was introduced that President Bola Tinubu had diminished the signature bonus payable by profitable bidders from round $200m to $10m.
In response to Komolafe, the NUPRC surveyed what different international locations like Brazil demand as signature bonuses from would-be buyers and found the necessity to slash that of Nigeria.
Komolafe maintained {that a} heavy signature bonus is a entrance entry barrier within the Nigerian oil sector and the rationale many haven’t been capable of develop belongings awarded to them.
Henceforth, the NUPRC disclosed that an funding in deepwater will now appeal to $10m as a signature bonus whereas shallow water and onshore will appeal to $7m.
To qualify for the bid spherical, the NUPRC Assistant Director, Multiclient Surveys and Regional Research, Ahmad Abdullahi, disclosed that bidding organisations should possess a monetary capability of about $200m for deep offshore and $150m for shallow water and onshore.