As the Nigerian government considers holding a bid round for marginal fields, we thought to highlight 10 things to expect when the bid guidelines are released by the Department of Petroleum Resources.
- The fields on offer would be publicly announced.
- Applicable fees may include (i) Application Fee, (ii) Bid Processing Fee, (iii) Competent Person’s Report Fee (iv) Data Prying Fee (v) Data Leasing Fee.
- Criteria for evaluation may include: financial capacity, technical capacity, host community commitment, E&P background of promoters amongst others.
- The fields, which an applicant can bid for would be restricted to a certain number.
- The bid and award process should be not more than 6 months.
- Increased transparency through public opening, verification, evaluation and announcement of commercial bids.
- Signature Bonus should be a significant commercial bidding criterion.
- The duration of the marginal field license would be 5 years with the possibility of a renewal of 10 years subject to fulfillment of work programme.
- Non-payment of Signature Bonus within the prescribed time frame may lead to revocation of award.
- Encouragement of common usage of facilities.
Disclaimer: This information is shared for general discussion purpose only and should not be construed as legal advice. Specialist advice should be sought on specific issues. For further information on the foregoing, please contact Oyeyemi Oke (oyeyemi.oke@ao2law.com) with the subject: “Nigerian Marginal Field Bid Rounds: 10 things to expect under the Bid Guidelines.”