Nigeria’s oil regulator, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), is expanding the number of oil blocks available in its 2024 licensing round and extending the application deadline. This move comes in response to significant investor interest in the exploration and development opportunities presented by the auction.
Initially launched in April, the licensing round offered 19 onshore and deepwater oil blocks. Recognizing strong investor demand, the NUPRC has added 17 additional deep offshore blocks to the auction.
“We’ve conducted more exploratory activities, acquiring valuable data that allows us to expand the offer and extend the deadline,” said Gbenga Komolafe, head of NUPRC. “This has generated tremendous interest from investors.”
Registration for the licensing round, previously scheduled to close on June 25th, has been extended by 10 days. Bid submissions will now open on July 8th and close on November 29th.
The NUPRC aims to leverage this licensing round to unlock Nigeria’s vast oil and gas reserves, estimated at 37.5 billion barrels of crude oil and 209.26 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. To attract investors, the commission has reduced entry fees (signature bonuses) from around $200 million per field to $10 million. Additionally, they have pledged a transparent bidding process with online submissions available. Bidders can choose to compete for individual blocks or groups of blocks (clusters).
By streamlining the process and offering attractive terms, Nigeria hopes to counter the flow of investment towards competitors like Angola and Namibia. The country, a member of OPEC, has seen its oil production decline from 2 million barrels per day a decade ago to just over 1.4 million barrels per day. This decline is partly attributed to the migration of oil majors towards deepwater fields, which are less vulnerable to sabotage and spill-related claims that plague onshore operations.
