By Abiola Olawale
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has announced a 48-hour deadline for new investors to conclude registration for the 2024 oil block licensing bid round.
This was announced by the Chief Executive of NUPRC, Mr. Gbenga Komolafe.
Speaking at the 23rd Nigerian Oil and Gas Energy Conference (NOG) which was held in Abuja on Wednesday, Komolafe said the registration and submission of pre-qualification documents would close on July 5.
In his presentation titled “Defining the Outlook for Deep Water Exploration and Production in Nigeria,” Komolafe also revealed that the launch of the bid portal and advertisement had been concluded on May 10, 2024.
According to him, the technical and commercial bid submission processes, including data access, data purchase, evaluation, bid preparation and submission, technical bid evaluation, publication of pre-qualified companies, and the commercial bid conference, would kick off on August 7 and conclude on December 13.
Komolafe added that ministerial consent, contracting, and negotiation would start on December 16 and end on January 29, 2025.
He also noted that the total number of blocks available are 31, with five blocks currently under litigation.
He said: “The commission has engaged the E&P Companies on unlocking about 57 Trillion Cubic Feet (TCF) of uncommitted or unmonetised gas reserves.
“We developed and unveiled a template guiding the activities for Domestic Crude Oil Supply Obligation (DCSO) to ensure adequate and uninterrupted feedstock to all domestic refineries in Nigeria.
“We have issued the annual Domestic Gas Delivery Obligation (DGDO) to all lessees to drive gas production growth.”
The New Diplomat reports that NUPRC, in May announced the commencement of the 2024 oil block licensing round.
The Chief Executive of NUPRC made the announcement at the Miami, Florida International Roadshow for the 2024 licensing round, hosted by the NUPRC, in collaboration with the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN).
The commission said the 2024 block licensing round would last for approximately nine months.
Komolafe, while unveiling the bidding round, said the exercise which was initially announced on 29 April, was a significant leap in the strategic hydrocarbons development initiative.
