Moses Oba
Zenith Energy has announced its participation, in the capacity of technical and financial partner to a Nigerian registered energy company, in the 2020 bid round for marginal oil and gas fields organised by the Nigerian Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR).
On 1 June 2020, the DPR announced the launch of a new a bid round for a total of 57 marginal fields covering a selection of onshore, swamp and shallow-offshore fields.
Under the guidelines provided by the DPR a marginal field is defined as any field that has been discovered and has been left unattended for a period of not less than 10 years from the date of first recovery, or any such field as the President of the Nigerian Federal Government may, from time to time, identify as a marginal field.
Zenith Energy is progressing in negotiations, first announced to the market on 2 March 2020, with an international oil major in order to provide funding for Zenith’s development objectives in Africa in the form of an offtake agreement.
Further, the company has also entered into negotiations with two pan-African financial institutions for a loan facility that will be used to fund the acquisition and development of Zenith’s growing portfolio in West Africa.
Andrea Cattaneo, CEO, commented: “Zenith has had ambitions to establish a presence in Nigeria for a number of years. The launching of the 2020 Bid Round for marginal fields, which has not happened since 2001, represents an exceptional opportunity for the company and its Nigerian partner to acquire an underdeveloped, potentially transformational oil production and exploration asset in the current low oil price environment.
Among the 57 marginal fields included in the 2020 Bid Round, there are specific assets which are particularly appealing to Zenith, especially on account of their compatibility with our development objectives. Indeed, the near-term production potential of certain assets is expected to facilitate the achievement of financing agreements to support our expansion. We expect the potential award of a marginal field, following the 2020 Bid Round process, to happen within 6 months of bid submission.”
Source: Oil Field Technology
