Upstream Commission Set to Wind Up 2020 Marginal Field Bid Round Programme

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) said yesterday that it was set to conclude the 2020 marginal field bid round programme which held in May.

To this end, the commission noted that it had put in place all necessary machinery to progress the bid round exercise to conclusion in line with the Petroleum Industry Act 2021 (PIA).

The commission’s Chief Executive, Mr. Gbenga Komolafe, in a notice to participants in the programme yesterday, indicated that an in-house work team had already been constituted to deal with all outstanding issues.

He said the issues included distilling and addressing the concerns of awardees with a view to closing out issues affecting multiple awardees per asset and formation of Special Purpose Vehicles (SPV) by awardees in line with the respective letters of award.

Consequently, the commission enjoined awardees with the indicated issues to avail themselves of the resolution mechanism provided, in the overriding national interest.

Komolafe also stated that the commission was collaborating with lease holders to agree on transition mechanisms in line with the PIA and the aspirations of government for the marginal field bid round exercise.

He restated that the 45 days period for payment of signature bonus by successful awardees as stipulated in the marginal field guidelines had lapsed.

Komolafe also assured those who had fully paid their signature bonuses that as a regulator and business enabler, the commission would ensure that all applicable guidelines to enable them progress to the next stage of the exercise, were fully implemented.

The defunct Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) which metamorphosed into the NURPC had concluded the 2020 marginal oilfield bid round, the first successful exercise since 2003 when 24 assets were put on offer.

The process which culminated in the presentation of letters to the bid winners in Abuja by the industry regulator, started in June last year, with 57 marginal fields spanning land, swamp and offshore put up for lease by the federal government.

However, during the event in May, the DPR stated that 161 successful companies were eventually shortlisted to advance to the final stage and were selected from 591 entities that applied for pre-qualification.

Marginal fields are smaller oil blocks typically developed by indigenous companies and have remained unproduced for a period of over 10 years.

Some of the companies which emerged winners at the time included: Matrix Energy, AA Rano, Andova Plc, Duport Midstream, Genesis Technical, Twin Summit, Bono Energy, Deep Offshore Integrated, Oodua Oil, MRS and Petrogas.

A few others that succeeded in crossing the hurdle and had fully satisfied all conditions were: North Oils and Gas, Pierport, Metropole, Pioneer Global, Shepherd Hill, Akata, NIPCO, Aida, YY Connect, Accord Oil, Pathway Oil, Tempo Oil, Virgin Forest among others.

It was a big win for local oil and gas companies in the country, which had a good outing during the ceremony as 100 per cent of the beneficiaries of the exercise were indigenous entities.

Nigeria last conducted marginal field bid rounds in 2003, with 16 of the fields now contributing just two per cent to the national oil and gas reserves, a figure the DPR said would be substantially boosted by the latest exercise, worth roughly $500 million in signature bonuses.