Letters of award were Tuesday issued by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) to 42 companies/entities that participated in the bid for 49 Flare Sites put forward during the 2022 Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialisation Programme (NGFCP) auction process.
Of the 42 companies/entities, 38 have been awarded 40 flare sites for standalone single flare site development, while four were awarded nine sites to be developed as clusters.
The upstream petroleum industry regulator said in a statement in Abuja on Tuesday that Reserve bidders’ status has also been accorded to some companies for the corresponding flare sites in case the preferred bidders failed to meet the terms and conditions stipulated in the request for proposal (RFP) published as part of the bidding process.
The NUPRC confirmed on Tuesday that the award letters were already being transmitted to the respective successful entities through the appropriate channels.
“In furtherance of its mandate in Section 7 (e) and Section 105 (2) of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), 2021, the Commission, in the third quarter of 2022, restructured the NGFCP and re-launched the programme to align with the provisions of the PIA, as well as reflect prevailing economic and operational realities.
“The Commission notes that the 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 engagements by the Commission were to galvanise and sustain interest in the programme, attract investments and stimulate participation by local and foreign entities,” the Commission stated of the process.
The agency said in response to its Request for Qualification (RFQ) issued in the fourth quarter of 2022, a total of 300 companies/entities indicated interest in either revalidating their prequalification status as existing participants or submitting Statement of Qualification (SOQ) as new participants.
Following the evaluation of SOQs, the Commission said a total of 139 applicants were deemed successful and awarded the Qualified Applicant status.
Subsequently, in the first quarter of 2023, the Commission said it issued the RFP to enable qualified applicants to put together their respective proposals for any of the 49 flare sites on offer.
A total of 88 entities, comprising individual companies and consortiums were said to have responded to the RFP by submitting a total of 137 proposals, each containing technical, commercial and financial documentation for one or more of the 49 flare sites for either standalone or cluster development.
The NUPRC said following the evaluation of the proposals, approvals were secured for 38 companies/entities as successful bidders for 40 sites for standalone single flare site developments and four companies/entities for nine sites to be developed as clusters, while some companies were also awarded Reserve Bidders status for the corresponding flare sites in case the Preferred Bidders failed to meet the terms and conditions contained in the RFP.
Consequently, the Commission said the Preferred Bidders were expected ro individually proceed to execute the Suite of Commercial Agreements with relevant parties and effect payment of the prescribed award fees to enable the Commission grant Permit to Access Flare Gas sites.
To ensure a successful outcome of the gas flare-out commercialization process, a reputable audit firm, KPMG, made up of a global network of professional firms, was approved to partner with the Commission in the implementation of the award process.
While congratulating the successful bidders, the Commission Chief Executive, Gbenga Komolafe, in a letter urged them to follow through with the final stages of the programme towards becoming Permit Holders and executors of viable projects that would harness flared gas for value creation in the country.
