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Nigerian govt opens bid for 17 new oil blocks

Published

4 months ago

June 19, 2024

The Nigerian government has declared that 17 deep offshore oil blocks would be included in the 2024 Nigerian Oil Fields Licensing Round.

This was revealed at the pre-bid conference for the 2024 licencing round in Lagos by Gbenga Komolafe, the chief executive officer of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission.

In a statement he signed and released in Abuja on Tuesday, Komolafe provided updates on the 2022/2023 and 2024 licencing rounds, stating that 17 deep offshore blocks had been added to the 2024 Licensing Round.

He said, “In pursuit of the commission’s commitment to derive value from the country’s abundant oil and gas reserves and increase production, the commission has been working assiduously with multi-client companies to undertake more exploratory activities to acquire more data to foster and encourage further investment in the Nigerian upstream sector.

“As a result of additional data acquired in respect of deep offshore blocks, the commission has added 17 deep offshore blocks to the 2024 Licensing Round. Further details on the blocks can be found on the bid portal.”

He further revealed that “by the published guidelines, we had earlier indicated that some of the assets on offer should be applied for as clusters, namely: PPL 300-CS & PPL 301-CS, PPL 2000 and PPL 2001. Bidders are hereby advised that they may, at their option, bid for those blocks as clusters or as single units.”

Several deep offshore blocks were recently offered for the 2022–2023 mini-bid round, and the Nigeria 2024 Licencing Round also included offers for other blocks that cut between onshore, continental shelf, and deep offshore terrains.

In the 2024 marginal fields bid round, the government specifically requested investors to submit bids for 12 oil blocks and seven deep offshore assets on May 8. It was also announced on June 12, 2024, that the Federal government has raised the number of oil blocks for grabs in the 2024 marginal bid round.

The head of NUPRC added that the schedule for the 2024 Licencing Round has been adjusted to enable interested investors to take advantage of the increased chances.

He said, “Registration/submission of pre-qualification documents which was initially scheduled to close on June 25, 2024, has been extended by 10 days and will now close on July 5, 2024.

“Data access/data purchase/evaluation/bid preparation and submission which was initially scheduled to open on July 4, 2024, and close on 29/11/24 will now start on July 8, 2024, and close on 29/11/24 as previously scheduled.

“All other dates in the published 2024 licencing round schedule remain the same unless otherwise communicated.”

The current government intends to increase Nigeria’s oil production to 2.6 million barrels per day by the year 2027. Only 1.5 million barrels per day is the nation’s current Opec+ objective.

Nigeria began an international roadshow for the new licensing cycle in the United States on May 7 in Houston, Texas, with a stop in Miami, Florida on May 14.

Related Topics:Featured Nigeria Oil blocs

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Egypt reduces 2040 renewable energy target to 40%, prioritises natural gas

Published

1 day ago

October 20, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Petroleum Minister Karim Badawi announced on Sunday that Egypt had reduced its 2040 renewable energy target down from a previous goal of 58% to 40%, highlighting the fact that natural gas will continue to play a significant role in the nation’s energy mix for years to come.

Egypt promised to increase the percentage of renewable energy output in its energy mix to 42% by 2035 before hosting the COP27 climate meeting in 2022.

Later, the aim was advanced to 2030. Mohamed Shaker, the then-minister of electricity, unveiled a bold proposal in June 2024 to increase this to 58% by 2040; however, that goal has since been abandoned.

“This is a message to all of us to work together to increase discoveries and attract more investments through the bids being offered for exploration, aiming to achieve discoveries in the region, which holds more wealth, particularly natural gas,” Badawi said in the opening session of the Mediterranean Energy Conference 2024.

Egypt’s persistent dependence on fossil fuels coincides with efforts to regain the confidence of international oil companies, whose domestic activities ceased due to a shortage of hard currency that put the nation in debt to the tune of billions of dollars.

Since entering office in July, Badawi has met with many foreign energy corporations, such as Eni of Italy, which intends to increase production in Egypt’s largest gas field, Zohr, by digging additional wells in early 2025.

At its peak of 3.2 billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d) in 2019, Zohr’s gas output allowed the nation to turn a profit.

However, by early 2024, output had dropped to 1.9 bcf/d, forcing Egypt to import more gas through a pipeline connecting it to Israel and more LNG to avoid a months-long load-shedding program.

Additionally, Egypt imports fuel oil that contains sulphur; in September, imports reached a record-breaking 255,000 barrels per day (bpd), the highest level since at least 2016.

VenturesNow

Nigerian govt imposes 5% tax on telecom, betting services

Published

2 days ago

October 20, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

As part of a new plan to restructure the nation’s tax system, the Nigerian government has proposed a 5% excise fee on gaming and betting operations, and telecom services.

The bill was obtained from the National Assembly on October 4, 2024. It was titled “A Bill for an Act to Repeal Certain Acts on Taxation and Consolidate the Legal Frameworks relating to Taxation and Enact the Nigeria Tax Act to Provide for Taxation of Income, Transactions, and Instruments, and Related Matters.”

The goal of the new legislation, according to an examination of it on Friday, is to impose excise taxes on services like betting, lotteries, gaming, and telecoms that are offered in Nigeria.

According to a portion of the bill, the amount of an excisable transaction is the amount that the service provider charges for the service, expressed in both money and money’s worth.

“Services, including telecommunications, gaming, gambling, betting, and lotteries however described, provided in Nigeria shall be charged with duties of excise at the rates specified under the Tenth Schedule to this Act in a manner as may be prescribed by the Service.”

Telecom services, including postpaid and prepaid services governed by the Nigerian Communications Commission, will be subject to a 5% charge, according to a breakdown of the excise duty structure in the law.

Lottery services, gaming, gambling, and betting will all be charged at the same rate.

The bill also establishes criteria for currency transactions, stating that excise duty will apply to any discrepancy between the actual transaction rate and the current Central Bank of Nigeria exchange rate.

Part of the government’s plan to increase non-oil revenue in the face of budgetary challenges is the new tax structure.

Authorities are trying to increase their revenue base because to the telecom and gambling industries’ explosive growth.

Additionally, the measure seeks to guarantee that currency trades match official CBN rates, with any discrepancy subject to excise duty under a model of self-assessment.