The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission officially wrote to holders of around 40 Petroleum Prospecting Licences in Nigeria, informing them of licence expiration and giving conditions for extension.

This was contained in a letter recently sent to affected PPL holders.

In the letter signed by NUPRC, Chief Executive Officer Gbenga Komolafe demanded that the holder who wishes to apply for an extension must pay $5,000 as an application fee.

According to the letter, the PPL was approved June 28th, 2022, and expired Thursday, 27th June, 2025, in line with the terms of award of the licence.

“Further to the award of a Petroleum Prospecting Licence to your company during the 2020 Marginal Field Bid Round, a review of our records indicates that the PPL will expire on 27th June 2025, which is in line with the terms of the award of the licence.”

Other demands by NUPRC for the PPL extension include evidence of submission of a work performance guarantee for the initial three-year exploration period, issued by a commercial bank duly licenced by the Central Bank of Nigeria with a minimum credit rating of ‘BBB’ issued by, at least, two rating agencies, one of which must be a rating agency incorporated in Nigeria and registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Also a detailed justification for the requested extension, including proposed exploratory and geological work programmemes, as well as the outstanding activities to be reclassified and implemented as part of a new work programme during the extension period, with clear timelines.

“Proposed value of the performance security to guarantee the financial commitment during the proposed extension period. Evidence of payment of the five thousand United States dollars application fee,” the statement reads.