By YUNUS YUSUF

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) says 25 oil bidders emerged at the 2024 oil licensing bid round.

The New Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Chief Executive of NUPRC, Mr Gbenga Komolafe, announced the winners at the licensing round commercial bid conference held in Lagos on Wednesday.

The winners that emerged after a competitive bidding are: Sifax and Royal Gate Consortium, and Oceangate Engineering Oil and Gas Ltd., both won the bids for PPL 300-DO and PPL 302-DO respectively, having emerged as the sole bidders in the categories.

For PPL 303-DO, two bidders, MRS Oil and Gas Company Ltd., and NNPC Exploration and Production Ltd., qualified and had a tie in the bidding, but MRS Oil and Gas emerged the winner.

In PPL 304-DO, Homeland Integrated Offshore Services Ltd. edged out Sifax and Royal Gate Consortium to emerge the winner. Hamilcar Oil and Gas Consortium won the bid for PPL 305-DO ahead of NNPC E&P.

BISWAL Oil and Gas Ltd. won in the PPL 306-DO bid, beating NNPC E&P Ltd.

Petroli Energy Marketing and Supply Ltd. won the PPL 269, Sahara Deepwater Resources Ltd. won PPL 270, while Sahara Deepwater also won the PPL 271 Licence.

Totalenergies, with a 126 points, emerged winner in the PPL 2000/2001, beating Star Deepwater Petroleum Ltd. that scored 125 points.

For PPLs 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006, BISWAL Oil and Gas; First E & P Development Company; Dewayles International Ltd.; Applefield Oil and Gas Ltd. and First E&P Development Company Ltd., respectively won the licences having being the sole bidders in their respective categories.

Similarly, PPLs 2007, 2008 and 3007 went to R28 Holdings Ltd., Tulcan Energy E & P Company Ltd. and Oceangate Engineering Oil and Gas Ltd.

Broron Energy Ltd. won PPL 2009, while PPLs 3011, 3012, 3015, 3016 and 3017, were all won by sole bidders including: R28 Holdings,Tulcan Energy E &P Company Ltd., Panout Oil and Gas, Hakilat Oil and Gas Consortium Ltd., and Applefield Oil and Gas respectively.

Komolafe also announced that there would be another oil licensing bid round in 2025.

According to him, the commission decided to make licensing rounds an annual exercise to boost oil production.

?While we are proud of our recent achievements as industry stakeholders, we must remain mindful of the challenges ahead.

?Declined production levels and failed global competition demand strategic action. Interestingly, the Petroleum Industry Act has given us a unique opportunity to transform the industry, attract investments and position Nigeria as a forefronter.

?To this end, I am pleased to announce that the NUPRC will launch another licensing round in the year 2025.

?Building on the lessons learned from this year?s round, the 2025 exercise will focus on discovered and undeveloped fields, fallow assets and prioritise natural gas development to support Nigeria?s commitment to UN Sustainable Development Goals,? he added.

Komolafe said the regulator?s commitment had been to restore investors? confidence in the industry.

According to him, NUPRC has done so diligently by ensuring that its activities are in alignment with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act.

?What we are doing here today is not a matter of discretion by the commission or the statutory provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act.

?The statutory provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act provide that the commission should conduct licensing rounds.

?The law did not make it annual, but to ensure that we grow, preserve and optimise our hydrocarbon resources, as I said, we are committed to annual licensing rounds. And that?s why I said that after this (2024) exercise, we will commence another one in 2025,? he emphasised.

The NUPRC boss added that the commission had started the recovery of idle assets based on the ?drill or drop? provision of the Petroleum Industry Act.

?There is a provision in the Petroleum Industry Act that speaks to ?drill or drop?. So, we have been having engagements with the industry to ensure that unexplored areas and resources are harvested back into the basket; and we have done this.

?We intend to rebuild those idle assets because a lot of our assets remain idle and that is not the intent of the Petroleum Industry Act.

?So, as a commission and as a regulator, we have started activating the drill or drop provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act, which is intended to ensure that our assets do not just remain idle.

?So, we are harvesting them into the basket, and we will ensure that they go for bidding to interested bidders in the next licensing round,? he stated. (NAN)

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