FG extends deadline for deepwater licensing round
Sopuruchi Onwuka
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has declared extension of bid submissions for the ongoing mini bid round for award of exploration rights in the nation’s deep offshore sedimentary basins.
Commission Chief Executive (CCE), Engr Gbenga Komolafe, declared in a statement released on Saturday that the extension was designed to straddle the participation and approval of the outgoing and incoming administrations of the federal government and boost investor concerns about the potential impact of the ongoing political leadership transition in the country.
Consequently, the deadline for the submission of Technical/Commercial bids has been shifted to May 19, and the timeline for concluding activities of contract negotiations and signing has been moved to fall between July 3 and 28, 2023.
The commission also pointed at “the need to guarantee participation of qualified indigenous companies, working collaboratively with multinationals and the International Oil Companies (IOCs) to leverage technology, funding and expertise in the deep offshore.”
Engr Komolafe President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the amendment of the bid round calendar to accommodate the concerns expressed by both local and international investors over the closeness of the schedule to the terminal date of the present administration in the country.
He assured that the 2022/23 Deep Offshore Oil block Mini-bid Round was progressing in line with schedule earlier published in the guidelines.
The outstanding activities for the conclusion of the exercise, according to the statement, include the technical/commercial bid submission and the ministerial consent/contract negotiation and signing.
It added that “the technical/commercial bid submission involves data access, purchase, evaluation, bid preparation and submission; bid evaluation and publication of results was well as commercial bid conference and announcement of winners.”
The NUPRC stated that processes would guarantees delivery of the objectives of the exercise and benefit to stakeholders.
He said tweaking the programme calendar came in response to concerns over plan to conclude the bid process before transition to the new government and “the need to guarantee participation of qualified indigenous companies, working collaboratively with multinationals and the International Oil Companies (IOCs) to leverage technology, funding and expertise in the deep offshore.”
“The Commission has already announced the requirement for joint venture (JV) arrangements between IOCs and indigenous companies and amended the Guidelines accordingly. This measure not only addresses the second concern, but is also in consonance with, and supports the Nigerian Content requirements of the Bid Round.
“It is also in accordance with Section 16(1)(a) of the Nigerian Constitution which provides that resources of the nation shall be harnessed in a manner that promotes national prosperity and efficient, dynamic and self-sustaining economy.
“The extension of time is also to afford interested multinationals and IOCs enough time to enter into, and conclude the necessary joint venturearrangements as well as allow for proper evaluation of relevant data by all bidders,” the statement reads.
