A destroyed refinery By Favour Ifeoluwa & Akinola Ajibade The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited( NNPCL) says it has destroyed 134 illegal refineries in the last few weeks. Also, the company said 63 illegal pipeline connections were uncovered during the the weeks . The corporation, In a visual report, stated that at about 2 am on Sunday, a joint team of security agents discovered a large wooden boat illicitly loading stolen crude oil from Barge AGS01 within the OML 18 operating area, noted intelligence report a large wooden wooden boat was caught receiving crude oil from the barge. According to the state-owned oil firm, while the barge was towed away with a tugboat in custody, five speedboats used in towing the large wooden boat to the illegal loading site were also detained and the particulars of the tugboats and barge used for the operation were reportedly seized for further investigation. It further said that two large boats, which involve
By Akinola Ajibade
The Federal Government has realised N200billon and $7million as signature bonuses from the Marginal Oil fields, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources,Chief Timpreye Sylva has said.
He said this, while awarding licences to companies, which won the bids.
The government announced the bids for the 57 marginal oil fields two years ago and brought it a close recently.
The firms, which received the Petroleum Prospecting Licences (PPL) to operate the oilfields, include Matrix Energy, Sun Trust Oil, Petrogas Energy, Genesis Hydrocarbons,Samira Oil & Gas, Ardova, Terra Energy and Mainland Energy.
Others are Energies, Bono, Calm Marine, Virgin Forest, Tempo, Deep Offshore, North Oil, Shepherd Oil, Hiltop Global, Duport among others.
Speaking at the ceremony where the awardees were given their licenses, Sylva described the bid rounds as a giant milestone for the current administration, adding ithat about 70 percent of the entire bid winners had fully paid up.
He noted that the roadmap of the marginal field awards began with two fields awarded in 1999, adding that prior to the award, 13 fields had been awarded on land, eight fields in swamp, and nine fields offshore, leading to a cumulative of 30 marginal fields so far awarded in Nigeria.
"It is worthy of note to state here that this present award process saw 57 fields offered and over 70 percent of them have their signature bonuses fully paid. This indeed is a testament to the increasing interest in our petroleum operations,” he said
He told the awardees of Marginal oil field licenses that their assets are going to be fully governed by the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.
He said because of this, each successful field will be issued a Petroleum Prospecting Licence (PPL) in line with the PIA. This is a complete departure from what used to be where the marginal field owners had no licenses.
The minister said this marks the beginning of a new era for us in the oil and gas sector and I urge the awardees of the PPL to take full advantage of the opportunities being presented to exploit, develop, and bring the assets to productive use.” As you develop your assets with the special purpose vehicles (SPVs), ensure that good oilfield practice is employed, environmental considerations and community stakeholders’ management are not neglected.”
He said that the fiscal provisions in the PIA ranks among the best globally, and therefore urged the awardees to seize the opportunities to quickly develop their fields and enjoy the full benefits of the PIA.
“It is my strong belief that the awardees would take advantage of the current attractive oil prices to bring these fields into full production within a short period in line with Mr. President’s aspiration to increase production, grow reserves, and reduce the cost of production.
He said the awardees should bear in mind that he has charged the Nigeria Upstream Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) to provide every necessary support to ease and facilitate seamless upstream petroleum operations in line with the objectives and provisions of the PIA.
“The Commission will support any aspiration for upstream development with midstream facilities integration towards maximizing the value chain. It is envisaged that robust collaboration between the awardees and the Commission will lead to a better understanding of the challenges being encountered. Therefore, I encourage you to promptly reach out to the Commission for guidance and support including mediations when challenges arise.
”The roadmap of our marginal field awards began with two (2) fields awarded in 1999. Prior to this award, thirteen (13) fields had been awarded on land, eight (8) fields in swamp and nine (9) fields offshore leading to a cumulative of thirty (30) marginal fields so far awarded in Nigeria. It is worthy of note to state here that this present award process saw fifty-seven (57) fields offered and over 70% of them have their signature bonuses fully paid. This indeed is a testament to the increasing interest in our petroleum operation.
Similarly, the Chief Executive officer, Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission ( NUPRC) Mr Gbenga Komolafe said that the bid for the oil assets and subsequent approval by the government was not without due process.
He expressed confidence in the ability of the government to rejuvenate the oil and gas sector and bring it to optimal performance.
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