Latest News | News Break Nigeria Operators in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry and other concerned stakeholders have blamed the continued delay in the conduct of bid rounds for marginal oil fields on the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke. The accusation followed the failure of the minister to approve the holding of the bid round in March this year, coupled with her failure to explain the reason(s). The Federal Government had in November last year indicated that it would conduct the exercise in March 2014. The announcement was made after many cancellations and postponements. The minister has yet to give a definite date for the exercise, which is said to be critical to the development of the country’s indigenous oil operations as well as the development of the hydrocarbon resources. Responding to queries from our correspondent on the telephone, the Director, Department of Petroleum Resources, Mr. George Osahon, said enquiries bordering on the subject should be directed to the Ministry of Petroleum Resources. “You mentioned that the minister had said that the bid rounds would be held in March this year and it didn’t hold eventually. Then, the person you should ask why this is not so is the minister,” he said. Our correspondent had earlier confirmed from sources in the DPR that the directive to go ahead with the marginal field bid rounds was that of the minister. One of the sources told our correspondent in confidence, “For this matter, everything is on the minister’s table. She has the final say.” The Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Mr. Ohi Alegbe, referred our correspondent to the DPR, stressing that such matters were within the confines of the department. Some indigenous players, who spoke to our correspondent, expressed worry over the Alison-Madueke’s treatment of the issue. They also emphasised that the minister’s attitude of not holding the bid round at the date she promised the whole world and her failure to explain the reason for the inaction had left room for suspicion. One of the operators who spoke to our correspondent in confidence said, “We don’t know why the minister is doing this. Could it be that she does not want to release the marginal fields because the Petroleum Industry Bill has yet to be passed by the legislators? “I don’t just understand. The situation is like the more you look, the less you see.” The Director, Frontier Oil Limited, Mr. Akin Aruwajoye, told our correspondent that the announcement of the planned bid round for March this year only raised the operators’ interest. According to him, the announcement spurred the operators develop plans and programmes, while also putting together people and resources; all to no avail. He said, “A lot of operators got funds from lenders. Will you now go back to them saying the exercise did not happen again? “If you are dealing with foreign banks, they will definitely label you as unserious. The failure to hold the exercise, to me, has nothing to do with the operators. Only the government knows why this has been postponed series of time.” The President, Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, Mr. Babatunde Ogun, told our correspondent on the telephone that it was high time the government opened up on the state of affairs in respect of the marginal field bid rounds and “tell Nigerians what is actually happening.” He said the way the industry was being conducted allowed for suspicion, adding, “This process is taking too long and the industry must be carried along. Not disclosing happenings in the sector will give room for more suspicion. “If the reason for the non-conclusion of the process is that people did not meet the set criteria; that should be made known to Nigerians and the relevant authorities should not hesitate to cancel the entire process and start a new one entirely.” The PENGASSAN boss said initially, it was believed that the government was only taking its time and adhering to due diligence; hence, the series of postponement, but noted that the persistent shift called for concern. There are, however, speculations that the process is being manipulated, as the DPR has not disclosed the identities of the 31 onshore and off-shore fields for sale. In November 2013, the Federal Government had announced the opening of the second marginal oil field licensing round, promising transparency and accountability in the process.
Posted on: Fri, 04 Jul 2014 00:39:06 +0000
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