Markets

Uncertainty Trails Nigeria’s Next Marginal Field Bid Round

Published

7 years ago

September 26, 2017

Uncertainty Trails Nigeria’s Next Marginal Field Bid Round

There is palpable uncertainty over the timeframe for the country’s next marginal field bid round, as the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) is yet to finalise any framework to that effect.

Specifically, DPR said in a statement yesterday that it is yet to receive any directive from the Ministry of Petroleum Resources regarding opening of bids to concession 30 marginal oil fields in the country.

According to DPR, arrangement has not been concluded yet to hold any bid round later this year or early in 2018.

The Federal Government had earlier planned to organise the marginal field bid round in 2013, with several roadshows in Nigeria and abroad to attract investors, but failed to meet the set deadlines.

The agency stated: “We would like to put it on record that whereas there might be plans to conduct oil bidding rounds in the near future for purposes of expanding opportunities in the oil and gas sector of the economy in line with the government’s aspirations to boost exploration activities and to bolster the national reserves, however these exercises would only be conducted when the DPR has been given the requisite authorisation by the Minister of Petroleum Resources, to submit operational guidelines and technical frameworks with which to midwife the process.”

But DPR assured the public that once such approvals have been secured, appropriate publicity mechanism would be activated to properly apprise interested participants and investors both within Nigeria and the international community as to how the process would be managed, reminiscent of the transparency and openness that have become sacrosanct guiding principles of the current administration.

It said that though the DPR is yet to finalise any framework for a bidding round, it could however reaffirm government’s longstanding adherence to the principle of an open competitive bidding process as opposed to a discretionary process of acreage allocations that has long been discarded.

The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Dr. Maikanti Baru, had recently said that there were lots of opportunities in the marginal fields, which would soon be available for interested bidders.

“The marginal oil field lease renewal is an opportunity for your group. You will need to engage the DPR early in discussion to find out the conditions that the Federal Government is interested in. For example, the supply of gas to power plants and fertilizer plants,” Baru noted.

He urged marginal field operators to ramp up their collective production from 10 per cent of national production to 50 per cent in the next 10 years to increase the footprint of indigenous companies in the upstream sub-sector, as is the case in the downstream.

The NNPC helmsman stated that the corporation was passionate about collaborating with the indigenous producers in order to grow their capacity and participation in the exploration and production sub-sector in line with government’s local content policy.

Up Next

Inflation Rebounds from 8-year Low in Emerging Economies

Don't Miss

British Airways Probes Racist Comments About Nigerian Passengers

Samed Olukoya

Is the CEO and Founder of Investors King Limited. He is a seasoned foreign exchange research analyst and a published author on Yahoo Finance, Business Insider, Nasdaq, Entrepreneur.com, Investorplace, and other prominent platforms. With over two decades of experience in global financial markets, Olukoya is well-recognized in the industry.

Comments

Energy

Nigerians Tackle Minister of Power Over Claim of 20-Hour Electricity Supply

Published

29 mins ago

September 30, 2024

Ugwoke Ogbodo

Many Nigerians have expressed shock and critisised the Minister of Power, Bayo Adelabu, harshly for claiming that over 40 percent of the country’s population is now enjoying up to 20 hours of electricity supply per day.

But his critics disagreed, saying the country still experience power outages and inconsistent supply at their deteriorating levels.

Reacting to Adelabu’s announcement, a resident of Lagos State, Kiwon Adesanya, said the minister’s statement is a far cry from the reality that citizens experience daily.

He said the people would only count themselves lucky if they get 8 hours of electricity in a good week, noting that “The constant power cuts are disrupting our lives and businesses.”

Echoing similar sentiments in other parts of the country, some residents of Ibadan, Oyo State capital said many businesses have collapsed due to poor power supply.

One of the affected residents, Doyin Ekundayo, a small business owner, expressed frustration with the government’s lack of transparency and accountability.

Ekundayon said it is disheartening to hear the minister claim such progress when the nation is still struggling with the same old problems.

While the government has made significant strides in recent years to improve electricity infrastructure, many Nigerians argue that the challenges facing the power sector are more complex than simply increasing generation capacity.

Factors such as transmission losses, inadequate distribution networks, and corruption have contributed to the ongoing power crisis.

Critics of the minister’s claim have called for more data-driven evidence to support his assertion.

They argue that anecdotal evidence from individual consumers is not sufficient to paint a comprehensive picture of the country’s electricity situation.

As the debate over the minister’s claim intensifies, Nigerians are demanding concrete solutions to the power crisis.

They are calling on the government to prioritize investments in renewable energy, improve grid infrastructure, and address corruption within the power sector.

Commodities

Osun Government Seals Off Gold Mining Company For Allegedly Evading Tax

Published

36 mins ago

September 30, 2024

Ugwoke Ogbodo

The Osun State Government said it has sealed up the business premises of Segilola Resources Operating Limited over alleged tax evasion.

A statement by the state Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Kolapo Alimi, on Monday, said the action followed a court order permitting the state to seal the company for “various flagrant tax violations and failure to disclose fully the employees directly and indirectly involved in its business activities, obstruction of tax processes by failing to provide timely tax information and documents.”

“Segilola Resources Operating Limited is one of the major companies carrying out mining activities and mineral exploration in the State as a subsidiary of Thors Explorations Limited listed on London and Toronto Stock Exchanges.

“After a series of demands, meetings, consultations, and engagements, the company still remained adamant and remorseless in its tax evasion and other violations. The Attorney-General of Osun State approached the court and consequently obtained an Order of the Court to seal up the Company until the due sum calculated from 2019 to 2023 is fully liquidated into the Osun State Government Account.

“The state notes with regret that while some companies make billions of naira in the state, especially in the mining sector, they are not ready to give the state its lawful dues.

“While the issue of shareholding values due to the acquisition of Osun state interest in Tropical Mines is purely commercial, we will continue to hold the company responsible for all its actions,” he said.

Recall that the gold mining company, in a statement by its Country Manager, Austin Menegbo, had denied the allegations by the state government, claiming that it has consistently demonstrated a commitment to being a law-abiding, transparent corporate entity, fulfilling all tax obligations and royalty payments in full and on time.

Energy

Power Generation Reaches New Heights as 40% of Nigerians Enjoy Over 20 Hours of Electricity

Published

5 hours ago

September 30, 2024

Bassey Marshall

The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has said the major achievement of the ministry under his administration is the increase in power generation to over 5,500 megawatts.

The minister, who spoke during a review of the ministry’s activities in the last one year, said more than 40% of Nigerians are now enjoying at least 20 hours of power supply.

Adelabu described the power supply before his resumption as epileptic, adding that Nigerians were unable to enjoy more than 15 hours of power supply per day.

He said, “Upon resumption, we had an installed generation capacity of 13,000 megawatts, but we were only producing, transmitting, and distributing about 4,000 megawatts of power to the entire country.

“This was quite low and unacceptable given our population and level of economic activities. Therefore, we were determined to improve the situation.

“At that time, there was an epileptic supply. Almost all customers, both residential and commercial, could not be guaranteed 12-15 hours of supply.

Additionally, the adoption of renewable energy was skeletal in terms of solar or wind sources of energy.

“Between then and now, which is about a year, there has been significant improvement. Today, our installed capacity is over 14,000 megawatts of power due to the addition of the newly commissioned Zungeru hydroelectric power plant and improved capacity of some of the existing power plants.

“Moreover, the major achievement is the fact that today we generate over 5,500 megawatts of power, we transmit and distribute it, and over 40% of customers today enjoy over 20 hours of regular power supply across the nation. You can see that there is a significant improvement between when we came in and now, which we intend to improve further.”

Furthermore, Minister Adelabu highlighted some challenges faced by the ministry, particularly the issue of the meter gap in the country.

He revealed that out of 13 million customers, over 7 million are without meters.

The minister emphasised the need to address this issue.

However, he revealed that with President Tinubu’s Presidential Metering Initiative, the issue of the meter gap will be addressed.

Adelabu added, “There is the issue of the meter gap that we have. We all know that out of almost 13 million customers that we have in the industry, over 7 million customers are still without meters and are on estimated billing. We said this is not the way to go.

“We must correct this, which is why President Bola Ahmed Tinubu set up the Presidential Metering Initiative, which has the mandate of installing over 10 million meters within the next five years, at least 2 million meters every year. We are making progress on this. The funds are being provided, and we will soon go into the acquisition of these meters. This would reduce the meter gap.”