FG Finetunes '05 Oil Licensing Round
Shell targets 50% of blocs
By Mike Oduniyi, with Agency report
The Federal Government has kicked off preparations for the 2005 licensing rounds for oil acreages, after the Ministry of Petroleum Resources began talks with some foreign technical hands over preparations of bids for the oil blocs.
However, Anglo-Dutch supermajor Shell dropped a hint that it would bid aggressively for new Nigerian oil and gas concessions, targeting about 50 percent of tenders planned by the Federal Government.
The Petroleum Ministry hopes to present the bid documents to the oil industry next month.
The official mission is expected back in the capital Abuja this week. Subsequently, all the work carried out to integrate existing survey data by local seismic indie Mabon and TGS-Nopec will be analysed by the Department of Petroleum Affairs (DPR).
It is understood the DPR intends to lead the market in a way not previously contemplated. After a full evaluation of prospective blocks, the DPR plans to place a premium on each block according to its value before going out to tender.
Delays in the parallel licensing round conducted jointly by the Nigerian and Sao Tome authorities in the so-called Joint Development Zone (JDZ) have also affected Nigeria's EEZ round, already four weeks behind schedule.
Only bloc 01 has so far been awarded but three more are in an advanced stage of talks and the remainder will likely be rebid next year, DPR sources hinted.
There is still scope for a substantial delay by the Joint Development Authority since final equity portions have not been assigned for JDZ blocs-2 and 4 while respective operatorships remain undecided. Anadarko Petroleum has renewed intensive lobbying this week with executives in Abuja scrutinising the range of JDZ assets.
ExxonMobil remains keen to expand its portfolio beyond a non-operating stake of 40 percent in bloc 01 and several Nigerian companies want President Olusegun Obasanjo to let more local indies play a role in the JDZ, despite a lack of deep-water expertise.
Shell's New Business director for Africa Demola Adeyemi-Bero.
said: "The Nigerian government plans to call a new round of bidding, Shell would like to be a part of that, holding about 50 percent."
The supermajor is already Nigeria's biggest foreign equity producer, accounting for roughly half the country's output of 2.3 million barrels per day.
Shell would like to add 300,000-400,000 bpd to its portfolio from the projected new investment, Adeyemi-Bero said.
Despite delays in bringing its 225,000 bpd Bonga oil development on stream, Shell's Nigeria production had been boosted by last year's start of its EA shallow-water field, he said.
Bonga was now expected to produce its first oil in the middle of next year after setbacks he attributed to "project delays, including fabrication".
Adeyemi-Bero also indicated Shell would be focusing on concessions with massive gas reserves.
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