Business

FG Offers 17 New Oil Blocks For Bidding

Published

2 years ago

June 19, 2024

The Federal Government, on Tuesday, announced the addition of 17 deep offshore oil blocks to the 2024 Licensing Round for oil fields in Nigeria.

Recall that some deep offshore blocks were recently put on offer for the 2022/23 mini-bid round and other blocks which cut across onshore, continental shelf and deep offshore terrains were also put on offer for the Nigeria 2024 Licencing Round.

Precisely on May 8, the government invited investors to bid for 12 oil blocks and seven deep offshore assets in the 2024 marginal fields bid round.

Also on June 12, 2024, it was reported that the Federal government had increased the number of oil blocks on offer in the 2024 marginal bid round.

The Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, Gbenga Komolafe, disclosed this at the pre-bid conference for the 2024 licencing round in Lagos.

Providing updates on the 2022/2023 and 2024 licencing rounds, Komolafe, in a statement he signed and issued in Abuja on Tuesday, said 17 deep offshore blocks have been added to the 2024 Licensing Round.

He said, “In pursuit of the commission’s commitment to derive value from the country’s abundant oil and gas reserves and increase production, the commission has been working assiduously with multi-client companies to undertake more exploratory activities to acquire more data to foster and encourage further investment in the Nigerian upstream sector.

“As a result of additional data acquired in respect of deep offshore blocks, the commission has added 17 deep offshore blocks to the 2024 Licensing Round. Further details on the blocks can be found on the bid portal.”

Komolafe further stated that “by the published guidelines, we had earlier indicated that some of the assets on REoffer should be applied for as clusters, namely: PPL 300-CS & PPL 301-CS, PPL 2000 and PPL 2001. Bidders are hereby advised that they may, at their option, bid for those blocks as clusters or as single units.”

For clarification, he said bidders should refer to the Frequently Asked Questions Sections of the 2022/23 and 2024 Licensing Round portals, or contact the upstream regulatory agency.

The NUPRC boss also stated that to allow interested investors to take advantage of the expanded opportunities, the 2024 Licencing Round schedule had been amended.

He said, “Registration/submission of pre-qualification documents which was initially scheduled to close on June 25, 2024, has been extended by 10 days and will now close on July 5, 2024.

“Data access/data purchase/evaluation/bid preparation and submission which was initially scheduled to open on July 4, 2024, and close on 29/11/24 will now start on July 8, 2024, and close on 29/11/24 as previously scheduled.

“All other dates in the published 2024 licencing round schedule remain the same unless otherwise communicated.”

He stated that to vacate entry barriers, the commission had sought and obtained the approval of President Bola Tinubu, who, as petroleum minister, approved attractive fiscal regimes and also minimised entry fees for both licencing rounds by putting a cap on the signature bonus payable for the award of the acreages.

“Consequently, it is necessary to ensure that the same bid criteria (in addition to the uniform signature bonus criteria) are applicable for both licencing rounds, to promote transparency and provide a level playing ground for all bidders.

“Since the criteria for the award of the oil blocks are now much more attractive than they initially were during the 2022/23 Mini Bid Round, it is in the interest of equity and fair play to give all investors the same opportunity to bid for the assets,” Komolafe stated.

Based on this, he declared that all blocks in the 2022/23 and 2024 Licencing Rounds were now available to all interested investors the websites developed for the exercise by the NUPRC, adding that the 2022/23 Mini Bid Round registration phase had been reopened to new applicants.

“The public is therefore invited to take advantage of this development and attractive entry terms and conditions and participate in the exercise.

“However, all the pre-qualified applicants published on the 2022/23 Mini Bid Round portal will not be required to go through a new pre-qualification process, as their technical submissions remain valid and eligible even for the 2024 Licencing Round.

“They may, however, wish to re-submit new commercial bids to take advantage of the more attractive criteria applicable to both licencing rounds and revise their bid bonds to adapt to the new bid criteria. They are also free to bid for blocks on offer in the 2024 Licencing Round,” Komolafe stated.

Business

Naira Appreciates Against Dollar At Official FX Market

Published

4 days ago

September 20, 2026

Editor

…Black market (Buying and selling rates): N1,385— N1,390

The Nigerian naira appreciated against the United States (US) dollar, trading at N1,331.2027 at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) official foreign exchange (FX) window on Friday, September 18, 2026.

The data shared on the CBN’s official platform shows that the naira traded at the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM) rate of N1,331.2027 per dollar and closed at N1,329.9900 per dollar.

The currency, which traded at an NFEM rate of N1,331.2812 on September 17, 2026, appreciated by at least N0.08 after trading activities on Friday.

At the parallel market, both the buying and selling rate decreased by N5, when compared to the previous trading rate on Thursday, September 17, 2026.

According to Aboki FX , the Naira-to-dollar exchange rate at the black market on Friday, September 18, 2026, was N1,385 and N1,390 per dollar for buying and selling rates, respectively.

Business

Again, Naira Depreciates Against Dollar At Official FX Market

Published

6 days ago

September 17, 2026

Editor

…Black market (Buying and selling rates): N1,380— N1,385

The Nigerian naira depreciated against the United States (US) dollar, trading at N1,329.8568 at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) official foreign exchange (FX) window on Wednesday, September 16, 2026.

The data shared on the CBN’s official platform shows that the naira traded at the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM) rate of N1,329.8568 per dollar and closed at N1,329.5600 per dollar.

The currency, which traded at an NFEM rate of N1,329.1485 on September 15, 2026, depreciated by at least N0.71 after trading activities on Wednesday.

At the parallel market, both the buying and selling rate remained the same, when compared to the previous trading rate on Tuesday, September 15, 2026.

According to Aboki FX , the Naira-to-dollar exchange rate at the black market on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, was N1,380 and N1,385 per dollar for buying and selling rates, respectively.

Business

How To Buy Dangote Refinery Shares As IPO Opens September 14

Published

2 weeks ago

September 10, 2026

Editor

Investors seeking to own a stake in the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE will be able to subscribe to its initial public offering (IPO) from September 14, 2026.

The ₦2.15 trillion offer by Dangote, valued at about $1.6 billion, involves 4.1 billion ordinary shares priced at an indicative ₦525 per share.

The offer, which is expected to become Nigeria’s largest-ever public share sale, will remain open until October 13, 2026.

The development gives Nigerians and other eligible investors an opportunity to acquire shares in the refinery as the Dangote Group moves to broaden ownership of the business.

At the signing of the IPO documents in Lagos on September 7, President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, said the offer was designed to enable ordinary Nigerians to become shareholders in the refinery.

“What we are trying to achieve is to make sure our drivers, cooks, servants, and everybody have the opportunity of having stakes in the refinery,” Dangote said.

How to subscribe

According to the Managing Director, Investment Banking, Chapel Hill Denham, Mr Lanre Buluro, prospective investors can subscribe digitally using a bank account, Bank Verification Number (BVN) and a mobile phone or laptop.

He said an investor can complete the process within two to three minutes, with the minimum subscription set at 10 shares.

At ₦525 per share, the minimum subscription of 10 shares will cost ₦5,250.

Buluro said investors could access the offer through platforms including Moniepoint, MTN MoMo, Airtel, Payaza, Piggyvest, Paga, Bamboo and Chapel Hill Denham’s Invest Naija platform.

Do I need a CSCS account?

Buluro said prospective investors do not necessarily need an existing Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) identity number before subscribing.

According to him, a CSCS account can be created for a new investor during the subscription process after the investor’s BVN and bank account details have been verified.

He explained that stockbrokers are behind the participating platforms and would contact subscribers after the transaction to provide their CSCS and Clearing House Number (CHN).

The allotted shares will subsequently be domiciled in the investor’s CSCS account.

What happens after subscription?

Investors can subscribe throughout the offer period, which runs from September 14 to October 13.

At the close of the offer, the advisers and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will assess the total subscriptions and determine the final allotment.

This means investors may not necessarily receive all the shares they apply for if the offer is oversubscribed.

Buluro disclosed that the offer has a provision to accommodate additional subscriptions in the event of oversubscription.

He said up to about 30 per cent additional shares could be issued under the oversubscription provision, potentially increasing the number of shares available from 4.1 billion to about 5.3 billion.

Before you invest
Buluro advised prospective investors, particularly first-time investors, to read the IPO prospectus carefully and seek guidance from a qualified financial adviser before committing their funds.

Investors should also understand that subscribing to an IPO does not guarantee a profit. The value of shares can rise or fall after allotment, depending on the company’s performance and market conditions.

The Dangote Refinery IPO is expected to significantly deepen public participation in the Nigerian capital market by allowing more individuals to take direct equity positions in one of the country’s largest industrial projects.
(TRIBUNE)