Federal Government has announced readjustments criteria for awards of the oil blocks to ensure to promote transparency and provide a level playing ground for all bidders.
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) unveiled the fresh criteria stating that the move would ensure that the same bid criteria, in addition to the uniform signature bonus criteria, are applicable for both licencing rounds.
Engr. Gbenga Komolafe, the Commission’s Chief Executive Officer, who made this known in a statement, said that ‘since the criteria for the award of the oil blocks are now much more attractive than they initially were during the 2022/23 Mini Bid Round, it is in the interest of equity and fair play to give all investors the same opportunity to bid for the assets. Consequently, all blocks in the 2022/23 and 2024 Licencing Rounds are available to all interested investors on br.nuprc.gov.ng and br2024.nuprc.gov.ng respectively, and the 2022/23 Mini Bid Round registration phase is reopened to new applicants’.
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According to Engr. Komolafe, while all other dates in the published 2024 Licencing Round Schedule remain the same, registration/submission of pre-qualification documents which was initially scheduled to close on 25 June 2024 has been extended by 10 days and will now close on 5 July 2024, and data access/ data purchase/evaluation/bid preparation and submission which was initially scheduled to open on 4 July 2024 and close on 29/11/24 will now start on 8 July 2024 and close on 29/11/24 as previously scheduled.
“The public is therefore invited to take advantage of this development and attractive entry terms and conditions and participate in the exercise.
“However, all the prequalified Applicants published on the 2022/23 Mini Bid Round portal will not be required to go through a new pre-qualification process, as their technical submissions remain valid and eligible even for the 2024 Licencing Round.
“They may however wish to resubmit new Commercial Bids to take advantage of the more attractive criteria applicable to both licencing rounds and revise their Bid Bonds to adapt to the new bid criteria. They are also free to bid for blocks on offer in the 2024 Licencing Round.
“To allow interested investors to take advantage of the expanded opportunities, the 2024 Licencing Round Schedule has been amended as follows: Registration/Submission of Pre-Qualification Documents which was initially scheduled to close on 25 June 2024 has been extended by 10 days and will now close on 5 July 2024. Data Access/ Data Purchase/Evaluation/Bid Preparation and Submission which was initially scheduled to open on 4 July 2024 and close on 29/11/24 will now start on 8 July 2024 and close on 29/11/24 as previously scheduled.
“All other dates in the published 2024 Licencing Round Schedule remain the same unless otherwise communicated.
“Furthermore, 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 multiclient companies to undertake more exploratory activities to acquire more data to foster and encourage further investment in the Nigerian upstream sector.
“As a result of additional data acquired in respect of deep offshore blocks, the Commission has added seventeen (17) deep offshore blocks to the 2024 Licensing Round. Further details on the blocks can be found on the bid portal.
“Lastly, in accordance with the published guidelines, we had earlier indicated that some of the assets on offer should be applied for as clusters, namely: PPL 300-CS & PPL 301-CS, PPL 2000 and PPL 2001. Bidders are hereby advised that they may, at their option, bid for those blocks as clusters or as single units” the statement reads in parts.
