MRS, Ardova, AA Rano, Others on Edge as FG Moves to Revoke 98 Oil Licences Issued by Buhari
- The Nigerian government said it will revoke marginal oil field licenses granted to some companies in 2021
- The government said of the licenses given to 100 companies, only three are operational
- Marginal oil fields are carved out of existing oil blocks operated by international oil company
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The Nigerian government has indicated plans to revoke most of the oil licences granted two years ago by the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
The development comes 30 months after the federal government completed the acquisition of the marginal oil fields and notified the winners.
Source: UGC
Oil fields abandoned after getting licences
According to Bloomberg, the Minister of Petroleum (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, disclosed this while speaking at the ongoing Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG) conference in Abuja.
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The Minister revealed that out of the 100 licenses granted in 2021, only three are operational.
He added that the Nigerian government will revoke the licenses of others immediately after the deadline is exceeded.
In January 2022, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) revoked marginal oil field permits to 33 firms for not meeting the 45-day deadline needed to pay the signature bonus for the fields.
Only a fraction of oil fields are operational
Lokpobiri said:
“’ Only three of about 100 licenses granted in that year are operational. The government will revoke the permits once the three-year deadline for them to become operational expires. The government plans to hold another oil bidding round soon.”
Marginal oil fields are oil and gas discoveries on an oil block owned by an International Oil company without activities in at least 10 years.
The Nigerian government carves out oil blocks for marginal oil field operators from the oil block with their owners’ consent.
Nigeria discovers another oil well in the North
In May this year, former President Muhammadu Buhari inaugurated the Wadi-B oil and gas exploration drive in the Jere Local government area of Borno State on Tuesday, May 23, 22, intending to add 30 billion barrels of oil to Nigeria’s reserves in the next seven years.
Buhari said at the virtual event that it marks the formal resumption of physical activities and the exploration of crude oil and gas in the Chad Basin area.
According to the president, the search for oil began in the area in 1976, while sub-commercial gas was found in 1985.
Reports say that Buhari stated that the success recorded in the Komani oil field and Ebenyi-A Oil wells in Nasarawa State were indicators of success in the Wadi-B oil field. NNPC Group Chief Executive Officer Mele Kyari said the drilling drive would be successful, stating that the oil drill performed in the area was in 1995.
NNPCL shuns Dangote refinery, swaps crude oil for loan with Others
Legit.ng reported that a Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) source stated that the company signed crude oil contracts with several entities.
As contained in a Punch report, the development prevented the company from initially meeting Dangote's demand.
The Executive Director of Dangote Group, Devakumar Edwin, claimed in a Monday interview with S&P Global Commodity Insights that the NNPCL had committed its crude to other organizations.
Source: Legit.ng
