By Abdul lawal

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has offered seven deep offshore oil blocks to prospective Oil and Gas companies to bid for.
This exercise is aimed at boosting oil exploration activities and National reserve level is opened to both local and international oil and Gas investors.
Already the Federal Government through the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) said it has engaged the services of International energy consultants- Wood Mackenzie to ensure that Nigerian petroleum upstream regulations are in line with international best practices for regulating the awardees of the seven deep offshore blocks offered in the 2022/2023 mini bid round exercise.

Speaking at the Pre- bid conference for the 2022/2023 licensing round of Petroleum Prospecting Licenses (PPL) in deep offshore Nigeria in Lagos on Monday, NUPRC Chief Executive, Engr. Gbenga Komolafe, said the gesture is aimed at reinviting investors from across the world with capability and experience in operating in deep water environment to embrace the generous fiscal provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) and join in the journey of energy sustainability at developing Nigeria’s oil and gas resources as cleanly as possible. 

According to Komolafe, the Mini Bid Round is a market-driven programme expected to outperform the last bid round which held in April 2007 during which a total of 45 blocks were put on offer under a different regulatory regime (the Petroleum Act, 1969). 

“In line with the provisions of the PIA, the Mini Bid Round will be managed by the NUPRC with support by its National Data Repository (NDR) and multi-client partners underpinned by high-quality datasets. The blocks on offer have extensive 2D and 3D seismic data coverage, including multi-beam and analog data. Additionally, a 3D MegaSurveyPlus reprocessed Pre-stack Time Migration of remarkable quality is also available to prospective bidders”, he explained 

Komolafe said that the Seven deep offshore open blocks (PPL-300-DO, PPL-301-DO, PPL-302-DO, PPL-303-DO, PPL-304-DO, PPL-305-DO & PPL-306-DO), covering an area of approximately 6,700 km2 in water depths of 1,150m to 3,100m are on offer in this Mini Bid Round, but are intended to be the first in a series of bid rounds aimed at further development of our prospective petroleum basins. 

“The bid rounds are within the context of our enhanced legal and regulatory frameworks, as enshrined in Section 73 of the PIA, that seeks to encourage new investors and investments into the next phase of oil and gas exploration in Nigeria”

“ The Licensing Round will no doubt be gainful to all stakeholders and will in the long run contribute to long-term global energy sufficiency. Interestingly, the Licensing Round process was formulated in cognizance of global sustainability goals. The process will, in addition to technical and commercial considerations, pay the requisite attention to strategies, processes and implementable plans consistent with net zero carbon emission targets, eliminating gas flares as well as overall Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) considerations. The oil and gas industry in Nigeria has embraced the reality of energy transition and is taking strategic position to leverage on the opportunities presented by the unfolding era” – EnergyTimes