All of the blocks that were available in the 2022–2023 bid have been made accessible to investors in addition to the 2024 licencing rounds by the Nigerian government, acting through the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
In a document sent to press in Abuja titled “update on the 2022/2023 and 2024 Licencing Rounds,” Gbenga Komolafe, the Commission Chief Executive, NUPRC, revealed this.
He claims that the action is intended to encourage equality and fair play by providing equal opportunity for all investors to bid on the assets, given that the requirements for awarding the oil blocks are now far more favourable than they were in the 2022–2023 Mini Bid Round.
A few deep offshore blocks had been made available by the Commission for the 2022–2023 Mini Bid Round. Additionally, additional blocks spanning deep offshore, continental shelf, and onshore terrain were offered during the Nigeria 2024 Licencing Round.
Komolafe clarified that in order to remove obstacles to entry, President Tinubu authorised fiscal regimes that were both appealing and reduced entry costs for both licencing rounds by capping the signature bonus that would be awarded for the granting of the acreages.
“To encourage openness and offer a fair playing field for all bidders, it is vital to ensure that the identical bid criteria (in addition to the uniform signing bonus criterion) be applied to all licencing rounds.”
“The 2022/23 Mini Bid Round registration phase is reopened to new applicants, and all blocks in the 2022/23 and 2024 Licencing Rounds are available to all interested investors on br.nuprc.gov.ng and br2024.nuprc.gov.ng, respectively.”
“Therefore, the public is cordially invited to partake in the exercise and benefit from this development and favourable entry terms and conditions.”
However, he declared that as their technical submissions are still valid and eligible for the 2024 Licencing Round, all prequalified applicants listed on the 2022–2023 Mini Bid Round portal will not need to go through a new prequalification procedure.
As per the CCE, it is possible for the applicants to modify their Bid Bonds to align with the updated bid criteria and submit fresh Commercial Bids to capitalise on the more appealing criteria that apply to both licencing rounds.
He continued, “They are also free to bid for blocks that are available in the 2024 Licencing Round.”
According to Komolafe, the Commission has added seventeen (17) deep offshore blocks to the 2024 licencing round in response to new information that has been gathered on these blocks. The bid portal has more information on the blocks.
The Commission also made changes to the schedule for the 2024 licencing round, indicating that the deadline for re-registration and the submission of Pre-Qualification Documents, which was originally set for June 25, 2024, has been extended by 10 days to July 5, 2024.
Additionally, the originally planned opening on July 8, 2024, and closing on November 29, 2024, have been moved to July 8, 2024, and November 29, 2024, respectively, for Data Access, Data Purchase, Evaluation, and Bid Preparation and Submission.
“Unless otherwise announced, all other dates in the published 2024 Licencing Round Schedule remain the same.”
“We previously indicated that certain assets on offer, specifically PPL 300-CS & PPL 301-CS, PPL 2000, and PPL 2001, should be applied for as clusters in accordance with the published guidelines.”
It is hereby recommended to bidders that they may choose to bid for such blocks as individual units or as clusters.
“Please refer to the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Sections of the 2022/23 and 2024 Licencing Round Portals for additional explanation. Additionally, you can reach us at br2024@nuprc.gov.ng or br.nuprc.gov.ng.”
