Lagos court rulings complicate Nigeria's plan for oilfield licensing round

By Libby George
LAGOS, June 1 (Reuters) - Judges in Lagos have blocked
Nigeria's efforts to revoke two oilfield licences, court
documents seen by Reuters showed, a move that could compromise a
full licensing round for marginal fields which the government is
aiming to launch as early as this month.
Marginal fields are smaller oil blocks that are typically
developed by indigenous companies. Nigeria had revoked the
licences so these fields could go into the new licensing round -
the first marginal field round since 2002 - which the country
hopes will boost oil output and bring in much-needed revenues
from fees associated with the licences.
The Ororo field, OML 95, and the Dawes Island Marginal Oil
Field, formerly called OML 54, were among 11 licences revoked by
the Department of Petroleum Resources in April.
All 11 were set to be included in a total of 56 fields in
the marginal field licensing round.
Two different judges in Lagos granted decisions on May 27
that halt the inclusion of the two fields in any licensing
round, the court documents seen by Reuters showed.
Potential legal challenges relating to the other licences
revoked in April mean that all of the 11 licences could
potentially be left out of the round, two sources familiar with
the matter said.
The DPR said it could not comment on a matter that was
ongoing before the court. The Ministry of Petroleum Resources
did not immediately comment on the rulings.
Owena Oil and Gas Ltd, said in its lawsuit that the DPR
revoked its OML 95 licence "without recourse to the plaintiff,"
court documents seen by Reuters showed. Eurafric Energy
Ltd. challenged the revocation of Dawes Island and said it had
spent money developing the asset, the court documents showed.
Owena Oil and Eurafric Energy were not immediately reachable
for comment.
Nigeria said last month it would delay major licensing
rounds due to coronavirus disruptions, more than halving its
projected revenue from signature bonuses to 350 billion naira
($972.22 million) from 939 billion naira originally expected.
But it planned to accelerate the licensing rounds for marginal
fields. Nigeria has not held a major licensing round since 2005.