Nigeria targets local upstream players with marginal field round
Reinvigorating production on acreage abandoned by the majors could be a tough task
Nigeria's drive to open up its marginal acreage to indigenous players is set to intensify, as the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) prepares to launch a fresh licensing round in 2018 incorporating up to 46 fields, largely in and around the Niger Delta. However, which fields will be on offer and the timing remain uncertain. This would be the first formal marginal field round for more than a decade. One proposed in 2013 came to nothing and the oil-price crash of 2014 ruled out a revival in the intervening years. Several lists of onshore and offshore fields that could be included are circulating in Nigeria in the absence of an official announcement, but it looks likely that some promising
Also in this section
10 March 2026
From Venezuela to Hormuz, the US—backed by the most powerful military force ever assembled—is redrawing not only oil and gas flows but also the global balance of energy power
10 March 2026
By shutting the Strait of Hormuz, Iran has cut exports of distillate-rich Middle Eastern crude, jet fuel and diesel, and is holding the energy market hostage
10 March 2026
Eni’s director for global gas and LNG portfolio, Cristian Signoretto, discusses how demand will respond to rising LNG supply, and how the company is expanding its own gas and LNG operations through disciplined, capital-efficient investments
9 March 2026
Petroleum Economist analysis sees increases in output from Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Kazakhstan among others before region’s murky descent
