The fast approaching general elections in Nigeria are setting serious jitters down the spines of owners and financiers of 28 oil block with expired licenses as they have begun race to secure renewal ahead of 2019 polls.
Most of the firms, our correspondent gathered exclusively, have expressed apprehension that the results of the polls might change dynamics for license renewal hence the rush to get them renewed before the elections.
The 28 blocks, according to a document of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), sighted by this newspaper, expired as at last quarter of 2016 and they have been very tough to renew.
Nigeria, the document showed, had 392 blocks out of, which 208 blocks are open.
“Seventy five of the blocks are Oil Prospecting Licenses (OPLs) while 109 of the blocks are Oil Mining Lease (OMLs),” the document stated.
The DPR confirmed that some requests have been submitted to it for renewal but two of the applicants expressed misgivings over the pace of the renewal process.
“No businessman will allow delay of licenses particularly of oil blocks magnitude into a major election,” he said, adding; “pressures are being mounted to get most of the blocks renewed before the elections.”
Asked whether the rush to get licenses renewed was buoyed from belief that there could be a change of government, he said: “We are not politicians, that aspect is left for politicians, but it is a major error in business if cardinal decisions are allowed to drag near a major election.”
Going back the memory lane, a former Deputy Director of DPR, Sunday Adebayo Babalola, who confirmed the figure, said that 28 oil blocks had already expired as at 2016, when he left the DPR.
“Twenty four of these blocks are Oil Prospecting Licenses (OPLs) while the remaining four expired blocks are Oil Mining Leases (OMLs),” he said.
“While 47 Oil Mining Leases (OMLs) will expire in less than five years, 27 OPLs will also be due for renewal in less than five years,” he declared, adding that between “five and ten years, 15 OMLs would have also expired while 43 of the OMLs would also expire after ten years.”
The DPR, however, said it approved 16 new oil and gas fields development plans (FDP) in 2017 and renewed 19 expired oil leases in 2018.
It also issued 10 gas production licenses, which generated N747,614,888,823.04 revenues in the year under review, according to the latest DPR document.
The approval of the 16 new fields is projected to increase Nigeria’s oil and gas production by 560,463 barrels per day when fully commissioned. To enhance upstream investment influx and accelerate oil and gas reserves and production growth in the country, the document revealed that DPR renewed 19 expired leases in 2017.
The Department, last month, joined issues with the Senate when the latter accused it of not following due processes in renewal of oil and gas prospecting licenses in the country.
