*No refund of signature bonuses
*NUPRC CCE assures operators of accelerated approvals for field development
CHIGOZIE AMADI
The Federal Government has stated that the era of dormant and undeveloped oil blocks has gone. Winners of oil blocks in any bidding round that fail to develop their oil blocks risk revocation of their licences and withdrawal their assets.
The Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Oil, Sen. Heineken Lokpobiri, stated this at the Licensing Round Pre-bid Conference, in Lagos on Wednesday.
He said: “Licences are no longer status symbol. They belong to government. Every licensee must develop the assets within the given time frame.
“Some licensees have held their licences for 20 years without developing their assets. Such will not be tolerated any longer,” he warned.
Lokpobiri also explained that there will be no refund of bid fee or signature bonus. According to him, post bid adjustment is not provided for in the bid round, as investors are cautioned to adhere strictly to the guidelines.
“Nigeria is a mature field. That’s why investors want to invest in the country’s hydrocarbon,” he added.
Also speaking, Commission Chief Executive (CCE), Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, stated that many of the blocks on offer were recovered through the powers granted the Commission by provisions in the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
She said, “Nigeria should be seen as the preferred investment destination in Africa. It is noteworthy that the number of indigenous producers has increased appreciably.”
She commended President Bola Tinubu for approving the revision of the signature bonus.
The CCE also explained that Nigerian banks are critical to Nigeria’s oil industry and so enjoined investors to always liaise with them appropriately while embarking on the licensing round.
Eyesan also highlighted the importance of accurate hydrocarbon accounting, noting that the Commission will prioritise tracking every barrel produced and swiftly addressing discrepancies and losses.
On host community relations, she urged operators to engage closely with the Commission ahead of planned meetings with host community leaders to reaffirm commitment to the effective implementation of Host Community Development Trusts (HCDTs).
Eyesan also stated that a key objective of her administration is to achieve full compliance with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) within 12 months. This effort, she said, will be monitored by a dedicated team reporting directly to her office, with the Commission issuing quarterly progress reports.
“Operators are encouraged to bring forward all high-impact shut-in fields for approval. On our part, a 90-day programme to fast-track approvals for near-ready Field Development Plans, well interventions, rig mobilisation and other quick-win opportunities has already commenced,” she added.
A total of 50 blocks are on offer for bid. 16 onshore and 18 shallow water respectively are in the Niger Delta. Four onshore each are in Anambra, Benue and Chad frontier basin, while one onshore is in the Benin frontier basin.
There is only one deep offshore in the Nigeria Delta basin.
