Protracted asset offering concludes with Abuja hoping local players can rapidly boost country’s shrinking oil production

The  Federal Government on Tuesday revealed that 13 out of the 30 marginal fields awarded since 1999 were not producing crude oil, as only 17 of the fields were currently meeting the target of crude oil production.

It also awarded 57 marginal fields to about 49 new investors in Abuja, adding that a total of N202.91bn was raked in by the government from the just concluded 2020 marginal field bid round.

The government disclosed this during the issuance of the Petroleum Prospecting Licence to the successful awardees in the 2020 marginal field bid round. This, it said, was pursuant to the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021.

This came as successful awardees, such as Matrix Energy Group, Petrogas Energy, among others, promised to begin oil search from the fields in earnest to boost the country’s crude oil production.

In his address at the event, the Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, Gbenga Komolafe, stated that one of the major tasks inherited by the NUPRC upon its inauguration last year, was the need to conclude the 2020 bid round.

“Consequently, we pursued the matter frontally and are delighted to inform you that the exercise which commenced in June 2020 is being concluded today,” he stated.

Komolafe explained that historically, the marginal fields award initiative began in 1999 and was borne out of the need to entrench the indigenisation policy of government in the upstream sector of the oil and gas industry and build local content capacity.