ICYMI: FG to reduce contract costs to attract oil, gas investments, says NUPRC

Gbenga Komolafe, chief executive officer (CEO), Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), says the country will introduce incentives to attract oil and gas investments as the country works to shore up crude output.

He spoke during an interview with Bloomberg on Wednesday.

Komolafe said the measures include replacing signature bonuses — the payments provided by firms to governments upon contract signing — with lump sums for production.

He said the country is also tackling delays in the issuance of licences.

According to Komolafe, lowering contractor costs and eliminating obstacles that hold up production agreements represent a “paradigm shift”.

In the next bidding round, happening “very soon”, he said potential investors will “see that Nigeria is ready to do business differently”.

Also, Komolafe said the government is striving to upgrade infrastructure, eliminate crude oil theft and vandalism, as well as improve community ties.

He added that capital inflows into the industry have decreased by about 74 percent in about 10 years.

Heineken Lokpobiri, minister of state for petroleum resources (oil), had said the federal government will prioritise independent producers for future exploration bids.

Lokpobiri said operators that have already proven capacity would be given prioritise in terms of future bid rounds.