The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has announced the extension of the deadline for the registration and submission of pre-qualification documents for the 2024 oil block licensing round.

NUPRC chief executive Gbenga Komolafe announced the extension in a statement.

Mr Komolafe said the registration and submission of pre-qualification documents, initially scheduled to close on June 25, 2024, had been extended by 10 days and would now close on July 5,  2024.

According to him, the data access, purchase, evaluation, bid preparation and submission, initially scheduled to open on July 4 and close on November 29, will now start on July 8 and close on November 29, 2024, as previously scheduled.

He said all other dates in the published 2024 Licencing Round Schedule remained unchanged unless otherwise communicated.

“In pursuit of the commission’s commitment to derive value from the country’s abundant oil and gas reserves and increase production, the commission has been working assiduously with multi-client companies to undertake more exploratory activities. This is to acquire more data to foster and encourage further investment in the Nigerian upstream sector,” he said.

Mr Komolafe said that due to additional data acquired on deep offshore blocks, the NUPRC had added 17 deep offshore blocks to the 2024 licensing round.

He said further details on the blocks could be found on the bid portal.

Mr Komolafe added, “In accordance with the published guidelines, we had earlier indicated that some of the assets on offer should be applied for as clusters, namely: PPL 300-CS & PPL 301-CS, PPL 2000 and PPL 2001. Bidders are hereby advised to bid for those blocks as clusters or as single units; it is optional.”

Some deep offshore blocks and other blocks that cut across onshore were offered for the 2022/2023 mini-bid round. The continental shelf and deep offshore terrains were also offered for the Nigeria 2024 licensing round.

To vacate entry barriers, NUPRC sought and obtained the approval of President Bola Tinubu, who was determined to create enabling and attractive investment regimes in the upstream oil and gas sector.

Mr Tinubu, also the petroleum minister, had approved attractive fiscal regimes and minimised entry fees for both licensing rounds by putting a cap on the signature bonus payable for the award of the acreages.

“Consequently, it is necessary to ensure that the same bid criteria (in addition to the uniform signature bonus criteria) are applicable for both licensing rounds to promote transparency and provide a level playing ground for all bidders.

”Since the criteria for the award of the oil blocks are now much more attractive than they initially were during the 2022/2023 Mini Bid Round, it is in the interest of equity and fair play to give all investors the same opportunity to bid for the assets,” Mr Komolafe explained.

The NUPRC chief added, “All blocks in the 2022/2023 and 2024 Licencing Rounds are available to all interested investors on br.nuprc.gov.ng and br2024.nuprc.gov.ng respectively. And the 2022/2023 Mini Bid Round registration phase is reopened to new applicants.

“The public is therefore invited to take advantage of this development and attractive entry terms and conditions and participate in the exercise.”

(NAN)