The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator  Heineken Lokpobiri, has said that those seeking for   the 17 oil blocks  on offer for sale under the 2024  licensing bid round must be financially and technically capable.

The minister stated this at an event organised by the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN), on the sidelines of  the ongoing 2024 Offshore Technology Conference (OTC), holding in Houston, Texas U.S.

Lokpobiri decried the situation whereby oil blocks are awarded and the owners fail to develop them.

According to him, this has resulted in  the non-development of over 90 per cent of marginal fields.

He said: “We have noticed a lot of idle blocks and little or no investment done on them in the last three years of acquiring them.

“I can tell you for fact that over 90 per cent of owners of these oil blocks are seeking for renewal without commencing or investing on them.

“In this regard, we are saying no more to that, and hence, those seeking for blocks must be financially and technically capable to turn it around and not mere portfolio investors.

“These set of investors are those we consider as men and not boys in the industry.

“The blocks are not for politicians. So, we are downplaying that kind of investors in this new bid rounds.

“However, we have taken away the 200 million signature bonus tied to blocks ownership.

“What we have tried to achieve is to tie such to operations and investment which will encourage investors and drive investment speedily on a field.”

Also speaking at the event,  the Commission Chief Executive, Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Gbenga Komolafe, said the bid round exercise, which was initially announced on  April 29, 2024, is a significant leap in the nation’s strategic hydrocarbons development initiative.

Nigeria is the largest oil and gas producer in Africa. The country has  37.5 billion barrels of crude oil  reserves and 209.26 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves. The bid round exercise is aimed at increasing the nation’s oil and gas reserves.

Out of the 19 blocks on offer, 12 blocks are new introduction, while the remaining seven are from the deep offshore blocks from the 2022 mini-bid round exercise.

Komolafe said: “This round introduces twelve meticulously selected blocks  across diverse geological spectra — from the fertile onshore basins to the promising continental shelves and the untapped depths of our deep offshore territories.

“Each block has been chosen for its potential to bolster our national reserves and stimulate economic vitality

“Our approach is underpinned by the robust legal framework of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021(PIA), which ensures compliance with best practices to boost investors’ confidence.

“In keeping with the provisions of the PIA and regulations made under the Act, the Commission has issued a licensing round guideline and published a licensing round plan for the twelve blocks.

“Namely PPL 300-CS; PPL 301-CS; PPL 3008; PPL 3009; PPL 2001; PPL 2002; PML 51; PPL 267; PPL 268; PPL 269; PPL 270; and PPL 271).

“In addition to these blocks, the seven deep offshore blocks from the 2022 mini-bid round exercise which cover an area of approximately 6,700 km2 in water depths of 1,150m to 3,100m shall also be concluded along with this licensing round.”

The NUPRC boss noted that to ensure that the  licensing round exercise is seamless, the commission in collaboration with its National Data Repository and multi-client partners, guarantees access to comprehensive and high-quality geological data, facilitating informed decision-making and strategic investments.

The blocks on offer, he posited, have extensive 2D and 3D seismic data coverage, including multi-beam and analog data, adding that a 3D reprocessed Pre-stack Time Migration of remarkable quality is also available to prospective bidders.

“The availability of advanced seismic datasets and analytical tools via our dedicated portals exemplifies our commitment to excellence and technological advancement. Distinguished Investors and Industry captains and stakeholders, the licencing round is indeed expected to be a huge success for Nigeria and is a big step towards growing the nation’s oil and gas reserves through aggressive exploration and development efforts, boosting production, expanding opportunities for gas utilisation and end to end development across the value chain, strengthening energy security and economy, providing an occasion to gainfully engage the pool of competent companies in the oil & gas sector with a multiplier effect in employment opportunities, enabling the transfer of technology, valorizing petroleum assets in the Nigerian territory and attracting investments.

“In addition, the licencing round presents us with the opportunity to reinforce Nigeria’s commitment to openness and transparency in line with the principles of the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI).

“On the global scale, the licensing round will no doubt be beneficial 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 energy sustainability goals,” Komolafe added.