The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has announced that the bid round process for its 57 marginal oilfields in the country has not yet been completed.
Bid rounds for marginal oil fields in Nigeria were last conducted in 2003, Mr Paul Osu, head of DPR’s Public Affairs said on Friday, according to agency reports.
He also added that the exercise is aimed at deepening the participation of indigenous companies in the upstream segment of the industry and to provide opportunities for technical and financial partnerships for investors.
Mr Osu, who was speaking in Lagos, further stated that the 2020 marginal oilfield bid round process is still ongoing in line with DPR’s published timelines on its website and bid portal.
“Over 600 companies have applied to be prequalified for the bid rounds which began on June 1. However, the DPR had put measures in place to ensure that the awardees would be credible investors with technical and financial capability.
“The objective of the 2020 marginal field bid round was to deepen the participation of indigenous companies in the upstream segment of the industry and provide opportunities for technical and financial partnerships for investors,” he disclosed.
According to Osu, the last time the country conducted marginal field bid rounds was in 2003 “with 16 of the fields now contributing two per cent to the national oil and gas reserves while bringing development to their host communities in the Niger Delta.”
Agency reports noted that a marginal field is any field that has reserves booked and reported annually to the DPR but has been unproductive for a period of over 10 years.
(NAN)