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 tomorrow.
The Commission Chief Executive, Gbenga Komolafe, in a statement on Saturday, said 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 (Mbpd).
The country had in recent times failed to meet the 1.799 Mbpd 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 licensing would be conducted in pursuant to the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), 2021.
He said 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.
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.
Komolafe also said the Commission would unveil the implementation template for the Host Communities Development Trust for commencement of the provisions under Section 235 of the PIA.
He said this will help check restiveness in the host communities thereby guaranteeing seamless operations, boost investors’ confidence and provide an enabling environment for sustainable development of Nigeria’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 distil 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.
