DPR shortlists 161 companies for marginal oilfield bid

DPR shortlists 161 companies for marginal oilfield bid

Abiodun OBA

Successful companies numbering 161 have been shortlisted to advance to the next and final stage of the bid round process for 57 marginal oil fields in the country.

The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) Head, Public Affairs, Mr Paul Osu, told newsmen on Thursday in Lagos that the firms were selected from the over 600 companies which applied for pre-qualification.

NAN reports that a marginal field is any field that has reserves booked and reported annually to the DPR and has remained unproduced for a period of over 10 years.

”The 2020 marginal oilfield bid round process is still ongoing in line with our published timelines on DPR website and bid portal.

“The current status is that 161 successful companies have been shortlisted to advance to the next and final stage of the process,” Osu said.

He said the bid rounds began on June 1, adding that the DPR had put measures in place to ensure that the awardees would be credible investors with technical and financial capability.

According to Osu, the objective of the 2020 marginal field bid round is to deepen the participation of indigenous companies in the upstream segment of the industry and provide opportunities for technical and financial partnerships for investors.

He said Nigeria last conducted marginal field bid rounds in 2003, with 16 of the fields now contributing two per cent to the national oil and gas reserves, while bringing development to their host communities in the Niger Delta.