Key highlights
- President Buhari has approved new dates for the deadline of the submission of bids and conclusion of activities under the deep offshore oil block mini-bid round schedule.
- The extension came because of concerns expressed by stakeholders about the schedule.
- The NUPRC wants to conclude the bid process before the transition to a new government.
President Muhammadu Buhari has approved July 28 as the new date for the conclusion of deep offshore oil block mini-bid round activities. The President also approved May 19 as the deadline for the submission of bids.
This is according to an April 1 statement signed by Engr. Gbenga Komolafe, the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
According to the statement, the commission needs to boost confidence in the transparency and continuity of the 2022/2023 deep offshore oil block mini-bid round process by making necessary amendments to the schedule. A part of the statement read:
“President 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.
“Following the approval by President Buhari in his capacity as the Petroleum Resources minister, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has revised the deep offshore oil block bid round schedule by extending the deadline for the submission of technical/commercial bids to May 19, 2023, as well as the timeline for concluding activities of contract negotiations and signing between July 3 and 28, 2023.
“The commission Chief Executive, Engr, Gbenga Komolafe indicated that the 2022/2023 deep offshore oil block mini bid round is progressing following the bid round schedule which has been published as part of the bid round guidelines. The outstanding activities for the conclusion of the exercise include the technical/commercial bid submission and the ministerial consent/contract negotiation and signing.
Two issues need to be addressed by the Commission
In its statement, the NUPRC expressed concern over two issues that could impact the success of the bid round if not immediately addressed. They are;
- The plan is to conclude the bid process before the transition to the new government.
- The need to guarantee the participation of qualified indigenous companies working collaboratively with multinationals and international oil companies to leverage technology, funding, and expertise in the deep offshore.
What you should know
The extension of time is also to afford interested multinationals and international oil companies (IOCs) enough time to enter and conclude the necessary joint venture arrangements as well as allow for proper evaluation of relevant data by all bidders.
