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N60b
staked on Nigeria, Sao Tome oil blocs
By Bassey
Udo
Snr
Correspondent,
Abuja
Investors keen on the 2004
licensing round of the Nigeria-Sao Tome and Principe Joint Development
Zone (JDZ) on Wednesday staked $433million (N60.62 billion ) to develop
the five acreages on offer.
Presidential Adviser on
Petroleum and Energy Edmund Daukoru expressed happiness that the response
has gingered confidence and hope in the next licensing round early next
year.
�The response is absolutely
exciting and gives hope that the next licensing round coming up early next
year would come with even greater hope�, he told reporters in Abuja after
the ceremonial opening of the bids.
He explained, though, that
winners may not emerge solely on the strength of the signature bonuses
offered, even where the bids are alone, but after they are evaluated
against other factors such as technical competence and compliance with the
principle of local content.
The 8th meeting of the Joint
Ministerial Council (JMC) of the Joint Development Authority (JDA), held
in Abuja in October, set this month as the deadline for the award of new
oil blocs.
It directed the JDA to
formally announce the termination of the 2003 JDZ licensing round and to declare open the 2004 version,
in which five blocs (2, 3, 4, 5 and 6) are up for bids.
At the expiration of the
deadline, 26 bids were received from 23 companies that signified interest
in the exploration for hydrocarbon in the five
acreages.
Bloc-4 generated the highest
interest with 10 bids, followed by Bloc-2 (seven), Bloc-3 (six), Bloc-5
(two) and Bloc-6 (one).
Vintage Oil and Gas offered
the highest bid of $135 million for Bloc-2, followed by Continental Oil
and Gas ($120 million), A & Hatman ($80 million), Foby Engineering
($73 million), Momoh Petroleum ($65 million), Equator Exploration/ONGC
Videsh ($65 million) and Devon/Pioneer (Ocean Energy Limited) ($50
million).
Of the six bids received for
Bloc-3, Energy Equity Resources made the biggest offer of $41million.
Others included Devon/Pioneer (Ocean Energy), ($40 million), Anardako
Petroleum Corporation ($40 million), Sahara Energy Fields ($37.5 million),
Ophir Energy ($36 million) and Equinox Oil & Gas ($35
million).
ECL International topped the
bids for Bloc-4 with an offer of $175million, next were Conoil Producing
($150 milion), Anardako Petroleum Corporation ($90 million), Hercules
Oil/Centurion Energy/Stratar Energy Consortium ($81 million) and Atlas
Petroleum ($70 million). Others were Energy Equity Resources ($67
million), Overt Ventures, Equator Exploration Limited/ONGC Videsh and
Godsonic Oil ($60 million each), Noble-Environmental Remediation Holding
Corporation (ERHC) ($57.285 million).
Only two bids were received
for Bloc-5. They were from ICC-OEOC Consortium ($37 million) and Sahara
Energy Fields ($35 million). Filtim Huzod Oil & Gas was the sole
bidder for Bloc-6 with $45 million.
Winners of the bids would be
validated by the JDA without prejudice to the rights to any of the blocs
already exercised by ERHC and ExxonMobil which have pre-emptive rights in
the zone.
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