By Charles Ebi
Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission ,NUPRC, has announced an extension to the 2024 licensing bid round registration by 10 days.
The chief executive of the agency, Mr Gbenga Komolafe, who shared this in Abuja yesterday, said the extension allows interested investors to take advantage of the expanded opportunities.
This is the latest move after the NUPRC slashed the bonuses payable by awardees in the 2022 and 2024 bid rounds to a maximum of $10 million for deepwater assets and $7 million for shallow water and onshore assets.
This followed the approval of its request for the reduction of signature bonuses for oil blocks by President Bola Tinubu, who also doubles as the minister of petroleum.
Mr Komolafe explained that in pursuit of the Commission’s commitment to derive value from the country’s abundant oil and gas reserves and increase production, the Commission has been working assiduously with multi-client companies, to undertake more exploratory activities, acquire more data to foster and encourage further investment in the Nigerian Upstream sector.
He added that, due to additional data acquired concerning deep offshore blocks, the Commission has added 17 deep offshore blocks to the 2024 licensing round.
Earlier this month, the NUPRC announced the commencement of the 2024 Licencing Round at the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston, Texas.
At the event, Mr Komolafe reiterated Nigeria’s commitment to advancing its oil and gas sector and highlighted incentives by President Bola Tinubu’s leadership aimed at attracting the attention and involvement of international investors.
He explained that the licensing round offers selected blocks, spanning diverse geological formations with great potential for economic growth, and energy security for shared prosperity.
Mr Komolafe also pointed to the regulatory framework anchored by the Petroleum Industry Act 2021, aimed at entrenching fairness and transparency, thereby fostering confidence among investors.
Nigeria’s 2024 licensing bid round is targeted at strengthening the country’s energy security and economy, providing an occasion to gainfully engage the pool of competent companies in the oil and gas sector with a multiplier effect in employment opportunities, enabling transfer of technology, value optimisation from the petroleum assets and attracting investments.
On the global scale, the NUPRC said the licensing round would be beneficial to all stakeholders and would in the long run contribute to long-term global energy sufficiency.
