NUPRC awards 42 bidders gas flare commercialisation licences for 49 sites

Oredola Adeola

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC, has announced 42 successful bidders who were awarded 49 gas flare sites put forward during the 2022 Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialisation Programme (NGFCP) auction process.

Gbenga Komolafe, Chief Executive of NUPRC made this known as part of the outcome of the bidding exercise in Abuja on Wednesday.

According to the National Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), 42 companies/entities participated in the bid for the Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialisation Programme.

Out of these, 38 companies/entities were awarded 40 flare sites for standalone single flare site development, while four companies/entities were awarded nine sites to be developed as clusters.

He said, “Reserve bidders’ status has also been accorded some companies for the corresponding flare sites in case the preferred bidders fail to meet the terms and conditions stipulated in the Request for Proposal, RFP.

“Award letters are already being transmitted to the respective successful entities through the appropriate channels.

“At this stage, the Preferred Bidders would individually proceed to execute the Suite of Commercial Agreements with relevant parties and effect payment of the prescribed award fees to enable the grant of Permit to Access Flare Gas by the Commission,” he said.

The Upstream regulator further disclosed that significant success recorded in the NGFCP bid process; was due to a series of focused engagements with relevant stakeholders including domestic investors, international development agencies, oil and gas producers, technology providers and financial institutions during the intervening months.

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) engaged with 300 companies/entities to attract investments and stimulate participation in their programme. Following the Request for Qualification, 139 applicants were awarded the Qualified Applicant status.

The Commission further noted that it issued the Request for Proposal to enable qualified applicants to put together their respective proposals for any of the 49 flare sites on offer. It added that eighty-eight entities responded to the RFP and submitted a total of 137 proposals.

The NUPRC revealed that it has evaluated proposals and approved 38 companies/entities for standalone single flare site developments and four companies/entities for nine sites to be developed as clusters. Some companies were also awarded Reserve Bidders status for the corresponding flare sites.

EnergyDay gathered that the Preferred Bidders will proceed to execute the Suite of Commercial Agreements with relevant parties and effect payment of the prescribed award fees to enable the grant of Permit to Access Flare Gas by the Commission.

KPMG has been approved to partner with the Commission in the implementation of the award to ensure a successful outcome of the gas flare-out commercialisation process.

NUPRC therefore encouraged the new 42 bidders to follow through with the final stages of the programme towards becoming Permit Holders and executors of viable projects that would harness flare gas for value creation.