In a significant move, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has capped the bonuses awarded to winners of the 2022 and 2024 bid rounds, limiting deepwater assets to a maximum of $10 million and shallow water/onshore assets to $7 million.
President Bola Tinubu, who serves as both the President and the Minister of Petroleum, greenlit this reduction in signature bonuses for oil blocks, signaling a shift in policy.
At the Pre-bid Conference for the 2024 Oil Licensing Round in Lagos, Mr. Ahmad Abdullahi, Assistant Director of Multiclient Surveys/Regional Studies at NUPRC, unveiled this development. Meanwhile, Mr. Gbenga Komolafe, the Commission’s CEO, announced the addition of new blocks to the auction, details of which will be available on the bid exercise portal soon.
Komolafe also responded to recent comments by TotalEnergies’ global CEO, Patrick Pouyanne, who suggested a lack of talent in Nigeria. Komolafe countered Pouyanne’s remarks, citing the profitability of French companies and other IOCs in Nigeria as evidence of local talent and expertise. Pouyanne had expressed his views during the Africa Annual CEO Summit in Kigali, Rwanda, criticizing decision-makers for lacking consistent frameworks in operations and preferring debate over productive outcomes.
He announced that the newly identified blocks would be added to the original pool scheduled for the bid exercise, with details to be made available on the bid round portal.
“In addition to these blocks, the seven deep offshore blocks from the 2022 Mini-Bid Round Exercise, covering an area of approximately 6,700 km² in water depths ranging from 1,150m to 3,100m, will also be concluded during this licensing round,” he stated.
To ensure the licensing round proceeds smoothly, the NUPRC, in collaboration with the National Data Repository and multi-client partners, guarantees access to comprehensive and high-quality geological data. This will facilitate informed decision-making and strategic investments.
He assured industry players and investors present at the conference that the licensing round is expected to be a significant success for Nigeria, marking a major step towards expanding the nation’s oil and gas reserves.
This will be achieved through aggressive exploration and development efforts, boosting production, expanding opportunities for gas utilization, and promoting end-to-end development across the value chain.
Additionally, he highlighted that the exercise aims to strengthen Nigeria’s energy security and economy. It provides an opportunity to engage competent companies in the oil and gas sector, leading to increased employment opportunities, technology transfer, optimization of petroleum asset value, and attracting investments.
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