The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum and Regulatory Commission has revealed the intentions of President Bola Tinubu’s administration to reclaim inactive oil exploration leases. The government plans to withdraw leases from companies that have not conducted any exploration activities since obtaining them.
Gbenga Komolafe, the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, shared this information on Monday. He emphasized that only companies demonstrating both technical capability and financial strength would retain their leases.
“Based on PIA (Petroleum Industry Act), the commission is focused on delivering value for the nation so only firms that are technically and financially viable will keep their leases,” he said.
Komolafe informed Reuters that the commission would conduct comprehensive evaluations of these leases, and the allocation of new leases would be contingent upon specific terms and conditions.
As per the latest data from the NUPRC, despite the issuance of about 53 exploration leases from 2003 to the present, more than 60 percent of the exploration licenses granted to local and foreign oil firms have lapsed.