Ken Okeke
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) says there are 220 open acreages that are ready for exploration and investment opportunities.
In the oil and gas sector, acreages mean specific tracts of land available for exploration, drilling, or production activities and can be leased or sold to companies to extract natural resources.
Nigeria currently has 31 oil blocks available for investment and has invited interested investors to explore opportunities in these blocks and contribute to the growth and development of the country’s oil and gas sector.
The Chief Executive of NUPRC, Gbenga Komolafe, disclosed this during his presentation at the Africa Oil Week in Cape Town, South Africa.
Komolafe, has assured that the ongoing licencing round in Nigeria will be a huge step towards growing the nation’s oil and gas reserves through aggressive exploration and development efforts.
In addition, Komolafe, stated that it will further boost production in Africa, expanding opportunities for gas utilisation and end-to-end development across the upstream value chain.
He described the 2024 licencing round as an unprecedented opportunity to unlock Nigeria’s vast hydrocarbon potential, attract investment, and propel the continent towards greater economic prosperity.
He told the audience that Nigeria, is endowed with abundance of crude oil and condensate reserves and of natural gas reserves representing above 30 per cent and 33 per cent respectively of the entire oil and gas reserves in Africa, aside abundant mix of other renewable energy resources.
Komolafe stated that in a bid to tap and unlock these abundant resources, the licencing round offers significant opportunities for both domestic and international players to invest in the upstream oil and gas sector in Nigeria, noting that Nigeria’s oil active rig count had grown in recent years to 38 from below 20.
He cited the recent Executive Orders by President Bola Tinubu, which aims at improving the efficiency and attractiveness of Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, which he said were generously targeted to incentivise oil and gas development and introduced measures to balance the implementation of Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act.
He stressed that this will ensure that oil and gas development is not hindered by local content bottlenecks.
The Executive Orders, he said, also include directives on reduction of contracting costs and timelines to enhance global competitiveness of Nigeria’s oil and gas industry and achieving higher rate of return on oil and gas investments.
“In keeping with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), we have introduced comprehensive reforms and developed regulatory framework aimed at modernising our licencing processes, enhancing stakeholder engagement, and ensuring environmental sustainability.
“Our aim has been clear: to attract both local and international investments that will drive growth and innovation,” the NUPRC chief executive said.
He added: “The licencing round is indeed expected to be a huge success for Nigeria and is a big step towards growing the nation’s oil and gas reserves through aggressive exploration and development efforts, boosting production, expanding opportunities for gas utilisation and end to end development across the upstream value chain.
“In addition, the licencing round presents us with the opportunity to reinforce Nigeria’s commitment to openness and transparency in line with the principles of the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI).
“On the global scale, the licensing round will no doubt be beneficial to all stakeholders and will in the long run contribute to long-term global energy sufficiency. Interestingly, the licensing round process was formulated in cognisance of global energy sustainability goals.”
The implementation process will, according to Komolafe, in addition to technical and commercial considerations, pay the requisite attention to strategies, processes and implementable plans consistent with net zero carbon emission targets, eliminating gas flares as well as overall environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations.
He told potential investors that the oil and gas industry in Nigeria has embraced the reality of energy transition and is taking strategic position to leverage on the opportunities presented by the unfolding era.
However, he explained that it was worthy to recognise that recent events around the globe indicate that fossil fuels will continue to be a core part of the global energy mix well into the future, even beyond the set 2050 targets for achieving net-zero carbon emission.
“The Nigerian 2022/2024 licensing rounds represents a fundamental opportunity for investment in the oil and gas sector, with a clear roadmap designed to attract local and international players.
“As we stand at the threshold of history in our energy sector, let us collaborate to harness the opportunities that promise not only to meet the immediate needs of our growing economies but also to secure a sustainable future for the next generations for shared prosperity,” he explained.