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DPR Issues Award Letters to Successful Marginal Field Investors

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The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has issued award letters to successful investors in the 2020 marginal field bid round programme.

The letters were issued at an award ceremony held in Abuja on May 31.

A marginal field is any field that has reserves booked and reported annually to the DPR and has remained unproduced for a period of over 10 years.

It was a big win for local oil and gas companies, which had a good outing during the ceremony as 100 per cent of the beneficiaries of the exercise were indigenous entities.

Some of the companies, which emerged winners include: Matrix Energy, AA Rano, Andova Plc, Duport Midstream, Genesis Technical, Twin Summit, Bono Energy, Deep Offshore Integrated, Oodua Oil, MRS and Petrogas.

Others are: North Oils and Gas, Pierport, Metropole, Pioneer Global, Shepherd Hill, Akata, NIPCO, Aida, YY Connect, Accord Oil, Pathway Oil, Tempo Oil and Virgin Forest, among others.

At the presentation of letters to the winners, DPR Chief Executive Officer, Sarki Auwalu, stated that a total of 591 firms submitted expression of interest forms, out of which 540 were pre-qualified, while 482 were bids submitted by 405 applicants.

He said: “In the end, 161 companies were shortlisted as potential awardees, out of which 50 per cent has met all conditions and therefore eligible for awards today. We are set to ensure opportunities are extended to other deserving applicants to fill the gap.

“The DPR is not just a regulator, we are an opportunity house. We drive creativity and transformation and we use these in all of our activities. This is done in the overriding national interest.”

The DPR said the objective was to deepen indigenous participation in the oil and gas industry as well as add to the country’s production and reserve.

The marginal field bid round programme is also geared to provide technical and financial partnerships for investors.

Recently, Auwalu stated that the country was expected to net $500 million from the signature bonuses on the fields, the first marginal field round since 2002.

Having received the expected revenue, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, penultimate week revealed that the regulatory agency “rescued” Nigeria from a financial crisis by remitting the funds to the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) in April.

Sylva explained that since the DPR collected royalties on behalf of the federal government, it was able to fill the vacuum left by the NNPC in contributing to the federation account.

The minister, who did not mention the exact amount the DPR provided, said revenues from marginal field programmes were of use, when the nation was in dire need of funds to share among the federating units.

“I can’t say what the figure is, but the DPR has always contributed to the federation revenue, because they collect royalties, so they’ll continue to contribute.

“But as to filling the gap, it’ll not always be there, because NNPC has not said after not being able to contribute in May, it’ll stop entirely. NNPC has not announced it again. So, we cannot say for how long DPR is going to keep paying,” he said.

Paul Osu, Head, Public Affairs, DPR, said the successful investors who received their award letters were companies that had fully satisfied all requirements listed in the marginal field bid round guidelines.

He said this included full payment of signature bonuses within the specified time frame.

Osu said the DPR would continue to provide transparent regulatory oversight for the oil and gas industry to enable business and create opportunities for investors.

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