Adewale Sanyaolu
Notwithstanding the coronavirus pandemic that has driving oil trading to an all-time low, an estimated 600 firms are currently in the race to acquire 57 marginal oil fields put on offer by the Department of Petroleum Resources.
Director and Chief Executive Officer of DPR(DPR), Mr. Sarki Anwalu, who disclosed this yesterday at the fourth webinar series organised by the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists, NAPE, with the theme: Nigerian Marginal Field Bid Round: Implications, Challenges and Opportunities, said the fields on offer are located on land, swamp and shallow offshore belts.
“There has been an increase in the number of bidders’ participation by 30 per cent since the extension of the date to June 21. We are impressed and happy. As a regulator, if you are auctioning an oil field, you need to get at least 10 people going after a field. Till date over 600 companies and consortiums have shown interests. So, we can say that we are celebrating success. After the extension, we are moving according to schedules and now we are at pre-qualification stage. Everything is going perfectly”, he stated. He noted that the bid round exercise is a good thing for the country as lots of people are still willing to invest in the country. “For us to put an offer marginal fields with over 600 companies, consortium, joint ventures partners showing interest, shows that people still believe in Nigeria’s economy.
Anwalu said that the number of companies owned or managed by women that joined the race is more now compared to all the bid rounds in the history of the country’s marginal fields. The Director has also promised that no one would be discriminated against based on gender, race, ethnicity or religion in the process.