-By Opeyemi Victoria
The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has directed successful winners who emerged at the 57 marginal oil blocs to pay $1.14 billion cumulative as Signature Bonus within 45 days. DPR is expected to make a whopping sum of $500 million from the bid process.
DPR has sent e-mail letters separately to the winners but did not published their names, although some keen observers have revealed that the winners include seven marginal field operating companies.
The list also has four companies run by members of Petroleum Technician Association (PETAN), the umbrella grouping of oilfield engineering contractors. Other companies that have reportedly received letters include those promoted by retired technical staff of some of the international oil companies (IOCs) operating in Nigeria.
According to the letter from DPR, the agency expects the signature bonus to be paid in 45 days, and it could be paid in either the local currency naira or in US dollars. The total signature bonus per field ranges from $5 million to $20 million and this shows that the winners are to pay as much as $1.14 billion as bonuses.
However, since no single field is assigned to a single company, the signature bonus demanded from each company correlates with the percentage interest in the field offered to the company. If the entire signature bonus charged to Field A is $5 million, company assigned 20 per cent equity in that field is asked to pay a signature bonus of $1 million.
DPR confirmed that the agency was the source of the letters which were sent to companies who won the blocs. Names of those who have been granted the awards remain largely in the realm of speculation, as the authorities have not published the list.
This latest correspondence to awardees, it was observed, still doesn’t specify who the partners are and doesn’t tell who operates the field, but the partners on each field are expected to jointly create a Special Purpose Vehicle to operate the asset.
Industry watchers believe that in the coming days the picture will be clear as to those companies either as individuals or group that won the blocs.
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