Nigerian Oil Firms Acquired 26 Licenses In 10 Years
26 oil mining licenses was acquired by the Nigerian oil firms in the Niger Delta basin area in the last decade.
The Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, Engr. Simbi Wabote disclosed this on Wednesday at the 2023 Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association Energy and Labour Summit in Abuja.
He noted that some of the divestments currently on the cards included those planned by Shell and ExxonMobil to sell oil and gas assets worth billions of dollars, in addition to Eni’s announcement in September of an agreement with Oando Plc for the sale of NAOC interests in six onshore blocks and Okpai gas power plant in Delta State.
He also explained that the divestments confirm that Nigerians and indigenous companies have come of age and have acquired the technical, managerial, and financial capabilities to play in the “big league”.
According to him, “the involvement of our financial institutions on the transactions represents means of efficient capital deployment and capacity building on loans syndication on an international scale. This is also applicable to legal services, insurance, government relations, employee relations, community liaison, and others.”
While speaking on the opportunities, the NCDMB boss also highlighted challenges encountered in the divestment exercises.
He said the challenges revolved around the time required to get necessary regulatory approvals as well as the substantial interests from various groups covering political, legal, communities, and labour.
Similarly, he noted the issues around how to manage legacy issues or liabilities related to the environment, communities, and other social commitments and pressure on new investors to recoup investments on time to offset loans and address other financial requirements.
The NCDMB boss expressed commitment that the Board would continue to partner with industry stakeholders to institute regulations that would ensure that the increasing footprints and stakes of indigenous oil and gas production companies would not lead to a reduction in Nigerian content compliance.