A total of 42 oil block licences held by some international and indigenous operators will expire this year, data obtained from the Department of Petroleum Resources on Monday showed.

OML 114, operated by Moni Pulo Limited, will be due for renewal this month, while OML 115, whose operator is Oriental Energy Resources Limited, will expire in May. OMLs 29, 24, 18 and 30, operated by Aiteo Eastern E&P Company Limited, Newcross E&P Limited, Eroton E&P Company Limited and Nigerian Petroleum Development Company/Shoreline Natural Resource Limited, respectively, will expire in June.

Also expiring in June are seventeen OMLs operated by Shell Petroleum Development Company as well as OMLs 4, 38 and 41, being operated by Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc. NPDC’s OMLs 40, 42, 26 and 34 will expire in June, while its OMLs 64, 65 and 66 will fall due for renewal in September.

OMLs 116 and 117, operated by Agip Energy and Natural Resources and Amni International Petroleum Limited respectively, will expire in August. The seven OPLs that will expire this year are OPL 322 (operated by Dajo Oil Limited); OPL 2012 (Grasso Nigeria Limited/Sigmund Oil Fields Limited); OPL 247 (Heritage Oil & Gas Company Limited); OPLs 2005 and 2006 (Sterling Exploration Limited); OPL 281 (Transnational Corporation) and OPL 248 (Zebbra Energy Limited).

In November last year, Seplat announced that the President and Minister of Petroleum Resources had given consent for the renewal of OMLs 4, 38 and 41 to a new expiry date of October 21, 2038.

Source: The Punch