The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), yesterday, disclosed that 42 companies have been awarded 49 gas flare sites in the Niger Delta region as part of efforts to close out gas flaring in the country.
The winners bided for the 49 flare sites put forward during the 2022 Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialisation Programme Auction process. The Commission said 300 companies had indicated interest for the sites.
A statement by the Commission stated that 38 of the companies/entities have been awarded 40 Flare Sites for standalone single flare site development, while four were awarded nine sites to be developed as clusters.
“Reserve bidders’ status has also been accorded some companies for the corresponding flare sites in case the preferred bidders fail to meet the terms and conditions stipulated in the RFP”, it added.
NUPRC also indicated that award letters were already being transmitted to the respective successful entities through the appropriate channels.
“In furtherance of its mandate in Section 7 (e) and Section 105 (2) of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), 2021, the Commission, in the third quarter of 2022, restructured the NGFCP and re-launched the programme to align with the provisions of the PIA, as well as reflect prevailing economic and operational realities”, it stated.
The upstream regulator noted that the “significant success recorded in the NGFCP bid process was due to a series of focused engagements with relevant stakeholders including domestic investors, international development agencies, oil and gas producers, technology providers and financial institutions during the intervening months. The engagements by the Commission were to galvanise and sustain interest in the programme, attract investments and stimulate participation by local and foreign entities.
“In response to the Request for Qualification issued in the fourth quarter of 2022, 300 companies/entities indicated interest in either revalidating their prequalification status as existing participants or submitting Statement of Qualification as new participants.
“Following the evaluation of SOQs, a total of 139 applicants were deemed successful and awarded the Qualified Applicant status. Subsequently, in the first quarter of 2023, the Commission issued the Request for Proposal (RFP) to enable qualified applicants to put together their respective proposals for any of the forty-nine (49) flare sites on offer.
“Eighty-eight entities, comprising individual companies and consortiums responded to the RFP and submitted a total of 137 proposals, each containing technical, commercial and financial documentation for one or more of the 49 flare sites for either standalone or cluster development.
“The proposals were duly evaluated by the Commission and approval secured to announce 38 companies/entities as successful bidders for 40 sites for standalone single flare site developments and four companies/entities for nine sites to be developed as clusters; while some companies were also awarded Reserve Bidders status for the corresponding flare sites in case the Preferred Bidders fail to meet the terms and conditions contained in the RFP”, it explained.
The Commission failed to reveal the identity of the companies or the amount the government realized from the bid process.
(Vanguard)
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