Two months to the March deadline for the completion of bid rounds for new marginal oil fields in Nigeria, the Federal Government is yet to make public the list of oil blocks it plans to offer for sale, in what some investors say is not unconnected with scheming for the 2015 polls.
For the first time in 12 years,
government on November 28, 2013,
began the process for the second
marginal field licensing round,
offering 31 on-shore and off-shore
fields.
Minister of Petroleum Resources,
Diezani Alison-Madueke, while
briefing newsmen in Abuja, said the
process for the fields, 16 of which are
located onshore, and the remaining
15 in the continental shelf, will be
completed in the next four months
(March 2014), while urging interested
local companies to form consortia
and increase their chances of winning
the fields.
According to her, “over the next two
weeks, the Department of Petroleum
Resources (DPR) will undertake a
road show to different parts of the
country about the programme. This
will be followed by a three and half
months of competitive bidding
process, in line with the federal
government’s commitment to
openness and transparency in the
conduct of business activities in the
country.
About two months after this
declaration, followed by road shows
to kick-start the process, the
Department of Petroleum Resources
(DPR) is yet to publish the list of oil
blocks for sale in the new bid round.
Investigations by Daily Independent
showed that the agency and the
Ministry of Petroleum Resources
neither released the list nor publish it
on their websites, triggering worries
among prospective bidders.
Some of the bidders who craved
anonymity because of the “sensitive
nature of the issues” to their
“business interests,” however said a
version of the list of the juicy blocks
is already in circulation among some
political heavy weights through their
highly connected Nigerian oil
companies.
According to one source, a marginal
field operator, on the list for example,
including “Uzuaku field on Oil Mining
Lease (OML) 11 in Ogoni land, the
Egbolom field on OML 23 that was
previously operated by Shell in Rivers
State, three offshore fields on OML
100 (Usoro, Ikong, Ibiom) and two on
OML 67 (Amaniba and Ekpat).”
Executive vice chairman, Terra Energy
Services Nigeria Limited, Akin
Adetunji had earlier urged the DPR to
explain why the list has not been
published.
“It is only the DPR that knows why
the list has not been published. If
they are calling for bids and
publishing guidelines, they should tell
why the list of the assets is not yet
out,” he said.
A management staff of DPR
confirmed in a telephone interview
with Daily Independent that the
official list of marginal fields to be
auctioned had not been made public.
He however debunked allegations
that some prospective bidders whose
companies have political
heavyweights as stakeholders have
seen the list. “What is circulating
among some people is not the
authentic list,” he said.
http://dailyindependentnig.com/2014/01/2015-elections-fg-wooing-opposition-oil-blocks/

It's getting more interesting by the day...

Where is the evidence that the FG is dolling out blocks to opposition?

As much as i detest GEJ antics, i sure dnt comment on lack of common sense!