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Nigeria announces May 19 as the date for 14 oil blocks of licensing round
Petroleumworld
CARACAS
Petroleumworld.com 04 13 06The Nigerian government Tuesday announced May 19 as the date for 14 oil blocks licensing round tied to projects in downstream and power sectors.
11 companies, most of them foreign, are pre-qualified for the round according to the announcement from Nigeria goverment. Each participant is expected to invest at least $2 billion in Nigeria's refining capacity or power generation, in addition to the development of the blocks they are bidding for.
"The exercise is aimed at ensuring that we don't only produce crude oil, but that we also produce refined products," Tony Chukwueke, Director of the Department of Petroleum Resources, said while announcing the guidelines.
Among the pre-qualified companies are CNPC, BG Sahara, ONGC Mital, Global Steel Holding, and INC Natural Resources Exploration, Clean Waters Consortium, NAOC/Lotus, ONGC Videsh, CPC Star Crest Energy, Transnational Corp., and Ni-Delta United Oil Company.
Among the 14 blocks are voluntarily relinquished by operators of production sharing contracts signed within the period 1993-1998on offer are 209, 211, 212, 213, 216, and 217. Others include 218, 220, 246, and 252.
These are half of the blocks voluntarily relinquished by operators of production sharing contracts signed within the period 1993-1998, through what the guidelines described as "mandatory adherence to existing rules."
And blocks that were offered in the 2005 bid round, but were not taken up such 289, 233, 281, and 471.
Rights of first refusal will be granted to participants on specific blocks, the guidelines said.
On the guidelines for mini-Licensing Round, the minimum performance bond is $75 million, while the minimum bonus is fixed for various terrains: $50 million for deepwater, $25 million for continental shelf, and $5 million for onshore. It said that the biddable parameter to be used in the exercise is the signature bonus and rights of first refusal will be granted to participants on specific blocks.
A minimum local content level of 40% will be required for blocks on the continental shelf, and 25% for those in deepwater and participants would be allowed to select indigenous companies to provide the local content materials for each block, the guidelines said.
However, the guidelines say that prior to the bidding conference in May, bidding applicants will have to agree with the government on work program, cost oil ceiling, and work commitment to the local content vehicles for the various terrains.
The guidelines also announced a number of non-refundable fees to be paid by applicants. These are: application fee - $10,000; bidding processing - $10,000, and data prying fee - $25,000/ block. Others are data lease - $20,000/block, and $50,000 for report per block.
Bidders are required to attach to their bidding documents, bank drafts for 25% of the signature bonus proposed by them.
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