Nigerian government urged to fast-track oil bid rounds

The Nigerian government has been urged to fast-track the long-awaited oil bid rounds for marginal fields and oil blocks. Nigeria's Minister of Petroleum Resources, Deziani Alison-Madueke, has already made several promises on the oil bid round, but technical hitches, such as the non-passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill, have become a challenge. At the same time, former Special Adviser to the President on Energy Matters, Emmanuel Egbogah, stated that plans were afoot to hold the next marginal field bid round within the next 24 months (2013).

Worried by the delay, the petroleum management outfit of Rivers State government, Treasure Energy Resources, said this has continuously affected the economic situation of the state and the country in general. The MD of the company, Eddie Wikina, said the government of Rivers State through Treasure Energy is seeking for allocation of marginal fields by the national government, as some of the major operators in the state have abandoned many oil fields owing to the recent unrest and militancy that plagued the region during the last administration.

GUARDIAN, July 13, 2011