FG extends submission date for licensing round for uptake of flare gas
Nigerian government has extended the submission date for the first step of the licensing round for uptake of flare gas sites in the country.
The submission deadline for Registration and Submission of Statement of Qualification (SOQ) for the Request for Qualification (RFQ), for the Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialisation Programme (NGFCP), was previously slated for Sunday, January 20, 2019.
However, a statement issued by Justice O. Derefaka, who is the programme manager of the programme (NGFCP), confirmed that the current submissions date had been shifted to February 28, 2019.
Other major step taken by of the NGFCP include the Shortlist of Qualified Applicants, which was to end by March 31, 2019; Issue of Request for Proposal (RFP), which was limited to first quarter of 2019; Submission of Proposals and Selection of Preferred Bidders, both of which were not expected to last beyond the end of September 30, 2019.
Would be bidders have been hoping for postponement of the submission deadline, largely because the first announcement of the licensing round came in during the last six weeks of 2018.
The Nigerian Gas
Flare Commercialisation Programme is the first auction targeted at licensing of subsurface hydrocarbon property in 11 years. It is not a conventional licensing round. It is for uptake of natural gas that is currently being flared in hundreds of sites in the country’s Niger-delta basin.
The government expects licence winners to take over the flare sites, monetise the molecules and boost the micro and macro economy in the process.
“The auction presents a significant opportunity for domestic and international developers alike to participate in the largest market driven flare gas monetization program undertaken on this scale globally,” Derefaka had declared in earlier statements.
“Bidders will have flexibility of choosing which flare site(s) to bid for, determine the gas price, and their end – use market or gas product, as well as the technology to be deployed. Interested parties will need to demonstrate project development experience and proposed proven technology, which we expect to be in commercial application.
“Additionally, parties will need to demonstrate technical and commercial capacity. Successful bidders will be granted title to the flare gas through a gas sales/supply agreement with the Federal Government of Nigeria.
An interested party (applicant) is not required to be a Nigerian entity in order to submit its SOQ. Following a successful bid, each Preferred Bidder will be required to act through or establish a Nigerian corporate entity, which will enter into the necessary Commercial.
It is important to note that only registered parties on the programme web portal can participate in the NGFCP bidding process.