REJOINDER

The attention of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has been drawn to a publication in Thisday Newspapers of Monday, July 17, 2017 alleging that the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) lost an estimated $6 billion as a result of DPR’s poor administration of divested oil blocks, which were sold by the International Oil Companies (IOC’s) between 2010 and 2015.

The DPR wishes to state as follows:

• The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) did not at any time cause the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) to lose any $6billion in divestment of oil blocks as alleged by your publication as the DPR is NOT involved in the tendering process for divestment of assets held by the International Oil Companies’ (IOC’s) or any other company and only requests for a Premium from such transaction that is due to the Federal Government of Nigeria which is determined by the Minister of Petroleum Resources pursuant to Paragraphs 14-16 of the First Schedule to the Petroleum Act, 1969.
• Assignment of interest in oil and gas asset is a process of transfer of a licence, lease or marginal field or an interest, power or right therein by any company with equity, participating, contractual or working interest in the said OPL, OML, or marginal field in Nigeria, through merger, acquisition, take-over, divestment or any such transaction that may alter the ownership, equity, rights or interest of the assigning company in question, not minding the nature of upstream arrangement that the assigning company may be involved in, including but not limited to Joint Venture (JV), Production Sharing Contract (PSC), Service Contract (SC) or marginal fields operation.
• Contrary to the erroneous impression in your publication, the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has over the years provided effective regulatory oversight for the oil and gas industry in Nigeria and pursuant to this, issued in August 2014 “Guidelines and Procedures for obtaining Minister’s Consent to the Assignment of Interest in Oil and Gas Assets”. The Guidelines have provided the procedures for obtaining Minister of Petroleum Resources Consent to any assignment of right, power or interest in an Oil Prospecting Licence (OPL), Oil Mining Lease (OML) in accordance with the Petroleum Act and Oil Pipelines Act.  The Guidelines can be obtained from the DPR website: www.dpr.gov.ng 

The DPR is the Petroleum Regulatory Agency of Nigeria and its oversight regulatory functions for the oil and gas sector in Nigeria is guided by the Petroleum Act, Regulations as well as Guidelines in the discharge of its roles and responsibilities in Nigeria’s economic value chain.

Signed.

Management.