OIL FIELDS

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) says it will issue Petroleum Prospecting Licences (PPL) to successful awardees of Marginal Fields in the 2020 Bid Round on Tuesday.

Mr Gbenga Komolafe, the Chief Executive Officer, NUPRC, said this in a statement on Saturday in Abuja.

The PPL is expected to ensure that the awardees contribute to the country’s increased crude oil production capacity which currently stood around 1.4 million barrels per day.

The country had in recent times failed to meet the 1.799 million barrels per day capacity allocated to it by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and hopes that it exceeds that allotted capacity soon.

Komolafe said the licencing would be conducted in pursuant to the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), 2021.

He said that the Commission had in March informed all participants in the 2020 marginal field bid round programme that it had put all necessary machinery in place to conclude the bid round exercise in line with the PIA 2021.

Komolafe also said that the commission would unveil the implementation template for the Host Communities Development Trust for commencement of the provisions under Section 235 of the PIA.

This, he said, was to positively impact against restiveness in the host communities, and in the process guarantee seamless operations, boost investors’ confidence and provide enabling environment for sustainable development of the country’s hydrocarbon resources.

“These will mark the conclusion of some of the most urgent and critical tasks inherited by the Commission when it was inaugurated in October 2021, after the signing into law of the PIA 2021,” he said.

He added that the Commission constituted an in-house team to distill and address the concerns of awardees with a view to settling issues affecting multiple awardees per asset and formation of Special Purpose Vehicles by awardees, in line with the respective letters of award.

Komolafe, therefore, urged awardees to avail themselves of the resolution mechanism provided by the Commission in the overriding national interest.

The Federal High Court sitting in Yenagoa has restrained the Federal Government from issuing licences on marginal oilfields in the Niger Delta pending the determination of a pending suit.  

Marginal fields are shallow fields which may not produce crude oil in commercial quantity immediately and would require further development to boost volume.  

Some Ijaw leaders approached the court in 2020 seeking to halt licensing on marginal oilfields located in their domains.  

Following setbacks and delays in the suit, however, the Federal Government announced bid winners on the fields on June 1, 2021.  

Presiding Justice Isa Dashen granted the restraining order in favour of the Ijaw leaders.  

Ijaw leaders who filed the suit are Chief Brown Agu (Opu Agu VIII), Mrs Rosemary John-Oduone, President Ijaw Women Connect and Mr Femowei Friend on behalf of themselves and the Ijaw ethnic nationality.  

The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, the Minister of Petroleum Resources and the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources are defendants in the suit.  

The Ijaw leaders asked the court to restrain the Federal Government from further advertising and receiving bids in respect of the marginal fields.  

They also asked the court to restrain the Federal Government from approving licences in respect of the marginal fields.  

Justice Dashen inherited the case from Justice Abimbola Awogboro following the latter’s transfer to the Lagos Division of the Court.  

The case has been fixed for June 8 for continuation of hearing and ruling on pending motions before the court.