New oil bid round for investors not politicians — Lokpobiri

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, said on Wednesday the bid round for the 17 oil blocs in the country are for investors with financial capacity and technical competence.

Lokpobiri stated this during a conference organised by the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN) at the ongoing 2024 Offshore Technology Conference (OTC), in Houston, Texas, the United States.

He said the move was part of the effort to drive investment and boost the nation’s economy.

The minister said: “We have noticed a lot of idle blocs and little or no investment done on them in the last three years of acquiring them.

“I can tell you for a fact that over 90 percent of owners of these oil blocs are seeking renewal without commencing or investing in them.

“In this regard, we are saying no more to that, and hence, those seeking blocs must be financially and technically capable of turning it around and not mere portfolio investors.

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“These set of investors are those we consider as men and not boys in the industry.

“The blocs are not for politicians. So, we are downplaying that kind of investor in this new bid round.

“However, we have taken away the 200 million signature bonus tied to blocs ownership.

“What we have tried to achieve is to tie such to operations and investment which will encourage investors and drive investment speedily on a field.

“I have worked closely with the NUPRC to ensure that we achieve a seamless transition and bid round sales this year.”

The Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, (NUPRC), Gbenga Komolafe, who was also at the forum, said the recent Presidential Executive Orders issued in March were aimed at improving the efficiency and attractiveness of Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.

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