FG Fixes April as Deadline For Oil Blocs Pre-bid Processes

The pre-bid exercise for the new seven deep offshore open oil blocs will be concluded by April 2023, the Federal Government has said.

Investors King reports that the pre-bid exercise began on January 3, 2023 after the launching of the bid round portal.

The Federal Government had earlier called on local and international investors with interest and experience in deep water operations for the oil blocs bidding according to the fiscal provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021.

Speaking at the pre-bid conference for the 2022/2023 licensing round held in Lagos, the Chief Executive, Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Gbenga Komolafe noted that the bidding exercise is taking place after 15 years.

He spoke extensively on the theme: ‘Growing Upstream Investment in Nigeria through Licencing Round: The Bid Process and Opportunities.’

Komolafe stated that the four months exercise will involve; registration/pre-qualification, data prying/purchase, technical bid submission/presentation, technical bid evaluation, and commercial bid conference.

He highlighted the new seven deep offshore open blocs as: PPL-300-DO, PPL-301-DO, PPL-302-DO, PPL-303-DO, PPL-304-DO, PPL-305-DO and PPL-306-DO.

“The seven deep offshore blocks, covering an area of approximately 6,700 km2 in water depths of 1,150m to 3,100m, are on offer in this mini-bid round. These are intended to be the first in a series of bid rounds aimed at further development of our prospective petroleum basins.

“The mini-bid round is a market-driven programme expected to outperform the last bid round which was held in April 2007 during which a total of 45 blocs were put on offer under a different regulatory regime (the Petroleum Act, 1969),” the NUPRC boss said.

In his remarks at the event, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva averred that the bidding process was of international standard with global sustainability goals in view.

He said the licensing round would be of great benefit to the stakeholders, adding that “the seven deep offshore blocks have been thoroughly evaluated and are believed to have significant potential for hydrocarbon reserves. They are in some of the most promising areas of the deep waters of Nigeria which have been de-risked by other producing fields nearby.”