FG: Oil blocs licensing will end in April
FG: Oil blocs licensing will end in April
The Federal Government of Nigeria, on Monday 16th, January 2023 announced that the licensing round for seven deep offshore open oil blocs, which commenced on January 3, 2023, would last for four months.
It invited investors from across the world with capability and experience in deep water operations to embrace the fiscal provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021 and join in bidding for the oil blocs.
The Chief Executive of Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, Gbenga Komolafe, disclosed this in Lagos at the pre-bid conference for the 2022/2023 licensing round of petroleum prospecting licenses in deep offshore Nigeria.
The pre-bid conference was held following the announcement of the 2022/2023 mini-bid round exercise on December 22, 2022.
Speaking at the conference, which had its theme as “Growing Upstream Investment in Nigeria through Licencing Round: The Bid Process and Opportunities,” Komolafe said the approval of the exercise by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), was the first in the last 15 years.
The NUPRC boss explained the commission had announced the commencement and launched the bid round portal which was officially opened on January 3, 2023.
“The exercise is scheduled to last for approximately four months along the following processes: registration and pre-qualification, data prying/purchase, technical bid submission/presentation, technical bid evaluation, and commercial bid conference,” he stated.
He said the bid rounds were within the context of the commission’s legal and regulatory frameworks, as enshrined in Section 73 of the PIA, which sought to encourage new investors and investments into the next phase of oil and gas exploration in Nigeria.
