President Muhammadu Buhari has approved amendments made to Nigeria’s Oil Bid Round Schedule for the period 2022/2023 in a bid to boost confidence in the transparency and continuity of the process, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) disclosed in a statement on its website Saturday.
The statement signed by the NUPRC’s Chief Executive Officer, Gbenga Komolafe, observed that constant interrogation and oversight of the process revealed two concerns which the Commission felt might impact the success of the exercise if not immediately addressed.
The concerns were the plans to conclude the bid process before the transition to the new government (from president Muhammaddu Buhari) and the need to guarantee the participation of qualified indigenous companies, working collaboratively with multinationals and the International Oil Companies (IOCs) to leverage technology, expertise and funding in the deep offshore.
Komolafe said in the statement, that the Commission has already announced the requirements for joint venture arrangements between IOCs and indigenous companies and amended the guidelines accordingly.
This measure, according to him, addresses the second concern and is also in consonance with and supports the Nigerian content requirement of the bid round. It is also in accordance with Section 16 (10 (a) of the Nigerian Constitution, which provides that resources of the nation shall be harnessed in a manner that promotes national prosperity and an efficient, dynamic and self-sustaining economy.
The extension of time, he stated, is also to afford interested multinationals and IOCs enough time to enter into and conclude the necessary joint venture arrangements, as well as allow for proper evaluation of relevant data by all bidders.
The statement read in part: ”Following the approval of President Muhammadu Buhari, in his capacity as the Petroleum Resources Minister, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has revised the Deep Offshore Oil Block Bid Rounds schedule by extending the deadline for the submission of Technical/Commercial Bids to May 19, 2023 as well as the timeline for concluding activities for contract negotiations and signing, to between July 3 and July 28, 2023.
Komolafe said in the statement that the 2022/2023 Deep Offshore mini bid round is progressing in accordance with the bid round schedule which has been publishes as part of the schedule.
The outstanding activities for the conclusion of the exercise, he said, included “the technical/commercial bid, submission and the ministerial consent/contract and signing.”
The technical/commercial bid submission involves data access, purchase, bid preparation and submission as well as bid evaluation and publication of results.
The concluding aspects are a commercial bid conference and announcement of winners.
Komolafe reiterated that the Commission is fully committed to conducting the bid round in a manner that guarantees the achievements of the objectives of the exercise, pointing out that participation must be robust and beneficial to key stakeholders.
