The federal government plans to auction deep offshore oil and gas licences for the first time in 15 years, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), has said.

The Chief Executive of the commission, Mr. Gbenga Komolafe, told Bloomberg in an interview, that Nigeria would launch a bidding round for seven deep-water blocks in November.

This is coming as the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr. Timipre Sylva, yesterday said the federal government was making concerted efforts aimed at curtailing crude oil theft in the country.

The last time the federal government issued dozens of such permits was between 1993 and 2007, and it was meant to open up the ocean floor to oil and gas production.

According to Komolafe, the blocks available are at depths of between about 1,200 meters (3,936 feet) and 3,100 metres.

They are located off the city of Lagos, rather than off the coast of the Niger Delta further to the east where most of the country’s oil industry is concentrated, he said.

The decision to put up the assets for sale is coming months after the NUPRC concluded the disposal of 57 marginal fields after a long and winding process to ramp up the country’s struggling oil production efforts.

Nigeria’s oil output fell to a multi-decade low of fewer than 1.2 million barrels per day in September and has almost halved since the first quarter of 2020.

The government blames rampant crude theft on the pipelines that crisscross the Niger Delta for shutting down wells and killing off investment.

In recent years, deep-water production led by international companies such as Shell Plc and TotalEnergies SE has accounted for about 35 per cent of oil output but its share has risen this year as onshore operators have struggled.

In addition to granting new licenses, the government is encouraging current block-holders to develop more of their offshore acreage.

Earlier this month, the NUPRC also resumed a separate bidding round for firms interested in commercialising gas that is burned off – or “flared” – by oil producers.

While Nigeria possesses Africa’s largest proven gas reserves, over 208 TCF, most of it is untapped, flared or re-injected into oil wells currently.

Meanwhile, the global technology group, Wärtsilä, has released its new report: “Nigeria Leading Africa to Net Zero”, which provided a detailed roadmap to how Nigeria should proceed to build a 100 per cent renewable energy power system by 2060.

Using advanced energy system modelling techniques, Wärtsilä’s analysts have outlined the most cost-effective power system that can be built in Nigeria year after year to reach net zero by 2060.

According to the Wärtsilä’s report, the optimal power system will consist of 1,200 Gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy capacity and would require a total of 283 GW of energy storage and 34 GW of engine-based power plants for grid balancing purposes.

We are Curtailing Crude Oil Theft, Says Sylva

Meanwhile, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Sylva, yesterday said the federal government was making concerted efforts aimed at curtailing crude oil theft in the country.

Sylva noted that the hydra-headed menace has denied the country 700,000 barrels per day of crude oil, thereby reducing the government’s revenue and the much-needed foreign exchange.

The minister, who spoke at the 22nd convocation ceremony of the Petroleum Training Institute (PTI), Effurun in Delta State, maintained that the criminal activities were not taking place in oblivion hence the involvement of locals in tackling the problem.

Sylva, who was represented at the event by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Ambassador Gabriel Tanimu Aduda, said: “Currently, this administration is making concerted efforts to curtail the issue of crude oil theft which has reduced the government’s revenue and foreign exchange income. Oil theft has denied the country of estimated 700,000 barrels per day.

“The adverse effect of this is the drop in crude oil production. Despite this setback, the government is not deterred from meeting the country’s OPEC quota. These criminal activities are not taking place in oblivion. Therefore, the involvement of the locals in tackling the problem is very essential,” he said.

Sylva disclosed that the federal government has also acquired state-of-the-art software and gadgets to detect and monitor crude oil theft in real time, noting that the PTI, as an indispensable organ of the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources, could not be ignored, while mentioning the goals and achievements of the present administration.

“This is because the management of the Petroleum Training Institute has aligned itself with the agenda of the Petroleum Ministry through its Research Directorate. The ministry has given the Institute mandates in different areas such as the research on the use of local materials in crude oil production, gas flare commercialisation, and last but not the least, finding sustainable ways of increasing our nation’s domestic refining capacity to achieve its OPEC quota”, he explained.

The minister stressed the need for PTI to expand its core mandate of providing competent technological manpower through quality training, research, and consultancy for the petroleum and allied industries to implementation of programmes that are designed to equip staff with knowledge and skills to achieve the Institute’s mandate.

“This will keep them up to date on recent trends that are pertinent to the oil and gas industry. Similarly, liaison with relevant parastatals, local and international oil companies for the continuous upgrade of relevant training equipment will be in the best interest of the Institute this 21st Century”, he added.

Principal and Chief Executive Officer of PTI, Dr. Henry Adimula said a total of 1,160 graduated from the Institute for 2020-2021 with 659 awarded National Diplomas while 501 bagged Higher National Diplomas and six received General Welding Certificates.

He disclosed that 112 students graduated with distinctions while 380 graduated with upper credit grades.

Adimula solicited the cooperation of the National Assembly and major stakeholders in the oil and gas sector for the amendment of the Act that established the Institute to enable it to perform effectively and efficiently in line with the current global trends in the sector. (THISDAY: Text, excluding headline)

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