Nigeria's upstream regulator NUPRC has added 17 oil blocks to its 2024 licensing round and removed five, leaving the total on offer at 24, double the original number.
The 17 additions are all deepwater blocks and have been added as a result of new data acquired.
"We had indicated that the total number of blocks we are putting on offer is 12. Actually, our intention was to do more but we were constrained by availability of data," NUPRC chief executive Gbenga Komolafe said.
Newly acquired data became available between 7 May and 11 June, leading to the round's offer being expanded, Komolafe said.
Five blocks on the original list of 12 — PPL 3008, 3009, 267, 268 and PML 51 — have been withdrawn because of "ongoing litigation", according to NUPRC.
The regulator did not elaborate on the litigation. It previously said that PPL 3008 and 3009 were formerly OPL 321 and 323, respectively, with the name change reflecting compliance with the provisions of petroleum industry legislation that came into effect in 2021.
The blocks are located in the western Niger delta, close to the 44,000 b/d Abo field floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) facility operated by Italy's Eni.
Nigerian upstream operator Oando, which is in the process of acquiring one of Eni's three Nigerian subsidiaries for an undisclosed amount, has a 30pc working interest in OPLs 321 and 323 through its subsidiary Equator Energy. According to Oando, South Korea's KNOC is operator of a joint exploration work programme for the two blocks, which were awarded in Nigeria's 2005 licensing round before becoming the subject of litigation involving the Nigerian government, the operator and Oando's subsidiary.
Meanwhile, PML 51, PPL 267 and PPL 268 are new blocks carved out from the former OML 122, NUPRC said. The shallow water OML 122 block, east of the Shell-operated Bonga field, has long been the subject of litigation and is listed on the website of local upstream firm Peak Petroleum as its sole asset.
An industry source told Argus that the withdrawn oil blocks were included in the 2024 licensing round after the regulator enforced forfeiture rules against the companies previously linked to them. But legal challenges are not surprising, the source added.
At the launch of its 2024–26 regulatory action plan in January, NUPRC said enforcement of "drill or drop provisions" in the 2021 legislation is one of its main commitments.
Nigeria plans to conclude the 2024 licensing round with ministerial consent and contracting in January 2025. NUPRC has pushed back the deadline for submissions of pre-qualification documents from 25 June this year to 5 July and the start of data access and evaluation from 4 July to 8 July.
