Nigeria has projected to spend about $3 billion in capital investment to fuel projects under the Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialization Programme (NGFCP) and create about 300,000 jobs across the oil and gas industry from the venture.
The Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Gbenga Komolafe, gave this hint during his presentation at the inaugural NEITI House Dialogue in Abuja.
The industry expert said that the expenditure would partly facilitate the process for the 2024 oil bid round aimed at boosting activities in the oil and gas sector as government is offering of 12 oil blocks alongside seven deep offshore blocks from last year’s bid round.
Speaking on the potential socio-economic impact of the flare gas commercialization programme, Komolafe projected substantial benefits, including the provision of clean energy to six million households through Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) and the elimination of 20 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually.
In addition, he projected the unlocking of 600,000 metric tons of LPG per year and the generation of 2.5 gigawatts of power from new and existing Independent Power Producers (IPPs).
On the 2024 bidding round, the NUPRC boss listed the offerings as including six acreages on the continental shelf, four deep offshore blocks, and two onshore blocks in the Niger Delta region. He assured stakeholders of a fair and competitive bidding process, underpinned by stringent regulations aimed at ensuring regulatory certainty, dismantling entry barriers, and fostering global competitiveness.
Komolafe further clarified that the licensing round that government would be putting in place is designed to enhance the quality data set and it is going to be conducted in a fair, and competitive bidding process in a non-discriminating manner.
On the criteria for block acquisition, he outlined the importance of technical competence, financial capacity, and viability.
According to him, Nigeria’s current production output, comprising crude oil and condensates totals 1,532,530 barrels per day as of April 25, 2024.
He also spoke on various initiatives introduced by the Commission to enhance crude oil production, including expedited approvals of Field Development Plans, adoption of cutting-edge technologies, reduction of unit technical costs, and transparent hydrocarbon metering and accounting practices.
Delivering his speech at the event, the Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), Dr. Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, explained the importance of the NEITI House Quarterly Dialogue in facilitating constructive engagements among policymakers from Nigeria’s extractive industries.
He harped on the crucail role of the forum in addressing pertinent industry issues and promoting transparency and accountability across the extractive industries sector.
