By Yemi Olakitan
The 2022/23 mini bid exercise, which was officially launched in Lagos yesterday, is intended to draw qualified investors from all over the world, both local and foreign, who have the capability and competence to operate in deep water environments, according to NUPRC Commission Chief Executive (CCE), Gbenga Komolafe.
In addition to increasing the nation’s production capacity, the exercise would help further ensure energy security and sustainability, Komolafe added. ‘Growing Upstream Investment in Nigeria via Licensing Round: The Bid Process and Opportunities,’ was the focus of the pre-bid conference, he added.
The seven Deep Offshore blocks that are now being offered, which encompass an area of roughly 6,700 km2 in ocean depths ranging from 1,150 metres to 3,100 metres, are meant to be the first in a series of bid rounds targeted at further developing the potential petroleum basins in the nation.
The commission’s improved legal and regulatory frameworks, which are outlined in Section 73 of the PIA, constitute the context for the bid rounds. These frameworks aim to attract new investors and capital for Nigeria’s upcoming round of oil and gas exploration.
He said the pre-bid conference was a rallying cry for locally and internationally competent investors to make investments and benefit from the hospitable fiscal and regulatory environment in the Nigerian upstream petroleum sector.
“The Mini Bid Round is a market-driven initiative that is anticipated to perform better than the previous bid round, which took place in April 2007 and during which a total of 45 blocks were offered under a different regulatory framework (the Petroleum Act, 1969)” he said.
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He stated that the Mini Bid Round would be administered by the NUPRC in accordance with the PIA’s rules, with assistance from its National Data Repository (NDR) and multi-client partners, and support from high-quality datasets.
The exercise is expected to last for roughly four months, according to the CCE, during which time the commission is anticipated to complete registration and pre-qualification, data prying and purchase, technical bid submission and presentation, technical bid evaluation, and commercial bid conference.
“We announced the start of the bid process and released the bid round portal, which was formally opened on January 3, 2023. We have also given applicants access to a dedicated support line, official email address, and phone numbers to help them navigate the licencing round procedure,” he said.
All awardees must be properly registered in Nigeria in accordance with the Companies and Allied Matters Act, he said, while guaranteeing that the entire bid process in accordance with the provisions of the PIA 2021 and accompanying regulations will be fair, transparent, and competitive in accordance with best practises (CAMA). The applicant may take part as a consortium or as a single business.
The exercise, according to Komolafe, will be a huge success for Nigeria and is a significant step toward increasing the country’s oil and gas reserves through aggressive exploration and development efforts, increasing production, expanding opportunities for gas utilisation and development, enhancing energy security and the economy, giving the chance to profitably engage the pool of qualified companies in the oil and gas sector leading to employment opportunities, et cetera
He added that the bid round offered the chance to strengthen Nigeria’s dedication to openness and transparency in accordance with the EITI’s guiding principles (EITI).
The process will pay attention to strategies, processes, and implementable plans consistent with net zero carbon emission targets, eliminating gas flares, as well as general Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) considerations, in addition to technical and commercial considerations. The oil and gas industry in Nigeria has accepted the reality of the energy transition and is positioning itself strategically to take advantage of the opportunities presented by the developing energy transition.
The recent release of Guidelines for Management of Fugitive Methane and Greenhouse Gases Emissions in the Upstream Oil and Gas Operations in Nigeria during the COP27 in Egypt, according to Komolafe, was one of the deliberate actions the NUPRC took as a regulatory body and resulted in widespread international praise for Nigeria. However, recent global developments suggest that fossil fuels will remain a crucial component of the world’s energy mix much into the future, even after most countries’ 2050 targets for reaching net-zero carbon emissions have been met.
