Petroleum commission to issue prospecting licences to awardees

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) will on Tuesday in Abuja, issue Petroleum Prospecting Licences (PPL) to successful awardees of marginal fields in the 2020 bid round, pursuant to the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), 2021.

In a statement signed by the Chief Executive of the Commission, Mr. Gbenga Komolafe, an engineer, said the event would also be used to “unveil the Implementation Template for the Host Communities Development Trust for commencement of the provisions under Section 235 of the PIA, 2021, to positively impact against restiveness in the host communities; and in the process guarantee seamless operations, boost investors’ confidence and provide enabling environment for sustainable development of the country’s hydrocarbon resources.”

The release of the licences and unveiling of the implementation template, he explained, would mark the conclusion of some of the most urgent and critical tasks inherited by the Commission when it was inaugurated in October 2021, after the PIA was signed into law.

Earlier in March this year, NUPRC had informed all participants in the 2020 marginal field bid round programme that it had put all necessary machinery in place to progress the bid round exercise to conclusion in line with the PIA 2021.

In furtherance of that resolution, the Commission constituted an in-house work team to distil and address the concerns of awardees with a view to resolving issues affecting multiple awardees per asset and formation of special purpose vehicles (SPV) by awardees in line with the respective letters of award.