In line with its pursuit of promoting investment in the downstream energy sector, the Federal Government of Nigeria will next April offer 10 lucrative oil and gas blocks for exploration.The government said bids for the acreages, which include three offshore oil blocks that were not taken up at the 2005 Bid Round and seven deep offshore blocks relinquished by some multinational companies, would only be accepted from investors who have entered into commitments to invest in one downstream project or the other.Projects targeted by the government, whose worth must not be less than $2 billion, include refineries, gas pipelines, independent power plants and ethanol production plants.The three offshore blocks that will be on offer are OPLs 289, 471, and 281, while the seven deepwater blocks included 50 percent of the Oil Mining Leases (OMLs) 212 where Shell’s Bonga oil field was discovered and 209 where ExxonMobil’s Erha oil field was discovered.
Effort is said to be intensified by government to make sure opportunity is extended to the people of the Niger Delta. According to a DPR director, "this is the very key…We want a mixture of the government and the private sector to bid from the Niger Delta,”.
Full Report here: FG Offers 10 Oil Blocks for Downstream Investors
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"Peak and Equator commence drilling the Owanare AX1 exploration well on OML 122
• Estimated gas-in-place potential in the Owanare prospect exceeds 3 TCF
Peak Petroleum Industries Nigeria Ltd. and Equator Exploration Ltd. have commenced drilling their second well in the OML 122 licence area, offshore Nigeria.
OML 122 is located 25-60 km offshore in water depths of 40-300 metres and covers an area of 1,295 sq. km on the Western Niger Delta, east of Shell’s giant Bonga Field (estimated 1.4 billion barrels) on OML 118 and southwest of Shell’s EA Field on OML 79.
The Owanare AX1 well was spudded this week on the large and promising Owanare prospect, which lies in a water depth of 135 metres. The 3D seismic data covering the prospect has been re-processed and interpreted by Peak, Equator and its independent technical advisors, Horizon Energy Partners. The data suggests that Owanare has gas-in-place potential of 3 TCF.
The aim of the Peak/Equator drilling program is to prove-up significant volumes of gas as potential supply for the numerous gas-utilisation projects currently underway or in planning stages in Nigeria within close proximity to OML 122. The secondary objective is to find commercial volumes of oil on the block.
Commenting on the spudding of the second well on OML 122, Wade Cherwayko, Chief Executive of Equator, said:
“Owanare AX1 has significant potential based on 3-D seismic and existing wells drilled on the block including the recently drilled Bilabri BX1 well drilled by Peak and Equator. With the large number of gas utilization projects being developed onshore Nigeria, Peak and Equator hope to monetize gas discoveries on OML 122 in the near future.”
On the 10 blocks, it is about time. Using the oil and gas resources we have to accelerate the local growth rate is a nice initiative. Hopefully some of the blocks like Opl 471 which is close to some of Total's main fields and the owanare prospect may have solid hydrocarbon accumulation to feed the local and maybe the regional market if there is an energy crisis in the future.
I have always prefered using the gas resources for local use in power, LPG and industries. I recall somehwere that gas may be the cheapest environmental friendly energy used in American industries, more cheaper than electricity. I think coal may be cheaper to produce electricity but may not be that ENV friendly.
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