The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has commenced the evaluation of Statement of Qualification (SOQ) of over 254 companies who have shown interest in Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialisation Programme (NGFCP).
The director of DPR, Mordecai Baba Ladan, said at the opening ceremony of the pre-qualification exercise in Lagos yesterday that committees including the Proposal Evaluation Committee (PEC), International Observer Group (IOG), rep- resentatives of the Nigerian Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (NEI- TI), NNPC, DPR and Ministry of Petro- leum Resources (MPR) were set up to evaluate those companies that had indi- cated interest to participate in gas flare commecialisation which was instituted by the former Minister of Petroleum Rer- sources, Ibe Kachikwu.
Represented by Mr Olusanya Bajomo, the deputy director, Gas Monitoring and Regulation, the Director said about 850 cynical capacity and financial capability to be able to take flare gas to market and that is why the net is wide at this time. “There is no constraint to the number of firms that should undertake the programme. But ultimately, you find out that as you go along, some will drop by the side, it’s like a funnel, it would go narrower until we get to the key companies that will be able to take the flared gas to market. So, government is not constraining it so that will get the best out of the process.
“The provision of the law on paragraph 35B of the Petroleum Act, First Schedule, stipulated that government has the right on the flared gas, so government has in- voked that right by means of deregulation of the flared gas and Prevention of Waste and Pollution Regulation of 2018, signed by Mr President and minister of State, Petroleum Resources, which came into effect July 2018
“By that regulation, government owns the flared gas and the producer has not title to the flared gas, government can
companies earlier showed interest when the advert was placed but later dropped when a fee of 1,000 dollars (N360,000) was attached to the application form and other processing documentation to know those who are serious.
He said the DPR has identified about 178 flare gas points across the oil pro- ducing states, adding that this is part of President Muhammadu Buhari and for- mer minister of State for Petroleum Re-flared gas on behalf of the government. “We are going to open the documents to ascertain those companies that have showed interest and submitted their state- ment of qualification in response to the advert placed in 2018. After the evalua- tion, the successful companies will move to the next stage.
“The Nigerian Gas Commercialisation
Programme, which is government’s flag- ship programme that will create oppor- tunity to take flared gas under the provi- sion of Petroleum Act, also authorized gas commercialization through third par- ty companies in order to promote invest- ment and get people who are qualified technically, have the capability and ex- perience to work in Niger Delta to har-ness gas flare to market.
“So, we are currently doing preliminary evaluation process that will see compa- nies that qualify to the next stage.”
The Deputy Manager, Gas Production and Monitoring Unit, Mr Oluwole Ogun- sola, said: “Federal Government through the DPR and other stakeholders are inter- ested in incredible companies with tech-
now allocate it to competent companies that can take it to market place, so, its government right.
“However, the programme was to make the operators to be able to make this work, so there are mechanism, well de- signed to protect the operators, such that if the guarantee a certain volume to third party offtaker, they can even get some fees in term of connection agreement and be saved from penalty of flaring