Gas Flare: Nigeria Extends Window for Market-based Scheme

Gas Flare: Nigeria Extends Window for Market-based Scheme

Chineme Okafor in Abuja
Nigeria has extended the cut-off date for prospective investors willing to participate in its ambitious market-based gas flare programme, the Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialisation Programme (NGFCP), to submit their Statement of Qualification (SOQ).

THISDAY gathered from the Programme Manager of the NGFCP, Mr. Justice Derefaka, that the window for the SOQ submission which was supposed to have closed last week, has been extended by 39 days, and would now close by the end of end of February.
“Please note that the submission date for the NGFCP Statement of Qualification (SOQ) has been extended to Thursday, 28th February, 2019 as opposed to the initial submission date of Sunday, 20th January, 2019.

“Each Applicant is required to complete and submit a SOQ and pay the SOQ submission fee by 17:00 hours West Africa time on or before the SOQ submission deadline of Thursday, 28th February, 2019 in order to qualify for consideration as a Qualified Applicant (QA) and not a day after. Each Applicant is responsible for preparing and delivering its SOQ in the required format,” said Derefaka, in the noted.

Derefaka, equally explained that the NGFCP would only consider parties who have registered on its web portal to participate in the bidding process, adding that the programme will only interface with interested parties through the web portal.
Late in 2018, Derefaka, disclosed Nigeria would need at least $3.5 billion inward investments to activate the new market-based initiative it has set up to end the practice of gas flaring at oil fields in the Niger Delta by 2020.

Speaking at the 36th edition of the annual conference and exhibition of the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE) which held in Lagos, Derefaka, had explained the $3.5 billion sought by Nigeria, will be brought in by investors willing to participate in the NGFCP which he claimed has immense benefits.
He stated then that the $3.5 billion investment would give annual returns worth $1 billion to the country.

“The NGFCP economic analysis also shows that with the US3.5 billion inward investments pumped in to implement the NGFCP, huge social and economic benefits would accrue to host communities in the Niger Delta, investors and the national economy as a whole.
“Benefits would include curbing pollution, climate change, global warming impacts in local communities and providing households with clean energy, particularly in unlocking LPG (cooking gas i.e. produce 600,000 MT of LPG per year),” Derefaka, said then.

Related Articles