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Bid round to auction Nigeria's gas fields coming

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) yesterday unveiled its plan to commence the auction of uncommitted gas fields in the country in a matter of weeks.

Its Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Engr. Gbenga Komolafe made this known to the Argentinian Ambassador to Nigeria, Alejandaro Herrero, who was on a courtesy visit to the commission in Abuja.

"The commission will in a matter of weeks commence auction of uncommitted gas fields in Nigeria," he said.

This was contained in the NUPRC News posted in the commission's official Twitter handle.

According to him, "the petroleum fiscal systems is now opting for production sharing contracts (PSC) as a new model of agreement for the exploration and production of oil and has resources."

It said the commission has yet again recorded another feat by attracting more investments into the nation's Oil and Gas Sector.

 Komolafe, who was unequivocal on Commission's drive towards strengthening the oil and gas sector told the Argentinian Ambassador that, the commission has come up with robust regulations and policies that pave way for ease of doing business in accordance with global best practices.

 Herrero, however, declared his country's willingness to key into the exploration and production of gas in Nigeria.

The envoy noted that his country is out to explore every opportunity for partnership and investment within the Nigerian gas fields.

Recall that Komolafe had on Tuesday revealed that he was surprised that some awardees of the 2022 Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialization Programme (NGFCP) 49 flare sites cried out they may not find the volume of gas they envisaged from their sites.

He said:  "It is therefore surprising to receive feedback from Awardees on claims by some producers that the forecasted gas volumes may not be available, only few months after."

Reading the Riot Act, Komolafe vowed to revoke the licenses of deviant producers/operators.

He said: "At this juncture, let me categorically state that the Commission, under the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, and enabling regulations such as the Gas Flaring, Venting and Methane Emissions (Prevention of Waste and Pollution) Regulations 2023, will not hesitate to apply necessary measures to erring/deviant producers/operators to the extent of the ultimate consequence of revocation of licenses or leases."