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The Government of Nigeria has begun the pre-bid process for the seven new oil blocs by appointing a UK-based research and consultancy firm, Wood Mackenzie, to oversee the 2022–2023 oil bid round.

The government, Monday, urged domestic and international investors to invest in seven new deep offshore oil blocs through a mini-bid round, The Guardian Reported.

The seven deep offshore petroleum prospecting licenses (PPL) 300, 301, 302, 303, 304, 305, and 306 are up for grabs. The new blocs encompass a huge area of about 6,700 kilometers, with a sea depth ranging from 1,150 to 3,100 meters.

Additionally, the government announced that it hired Wood Mackenzie to oversee the 2022–2023 oil bid round to steer the process and ensure openness and transparency.

The information was revealed during the pre-bid conference for the 2022–2023 licensing cycle of petroleum prospecting licenses in deep offshore Nigeria by Gbenga Komolafe, Chief Executive, Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), in Lagos.

Speaking at the conference with the title "Growing Upstream Investment in Nigeria through Licensing Round: The Bid Process and Opportunities," Komolafe claimed that the exercise's clearance by President Muhammadu Buhari was the first in the past 15 years.

The NUPRC head asserted that on Jan. 3 the commission formally opened the portal for the bid round after announcing its commencement. "The exercise is scheduled to last for approximately four months along the following processes: registration and pre-qualification, data prying/purchase, technical bid submission/presentation, technical bid evaluation, and commercial bid conference," he said, as reported by The Cable.

As stated in Section 73 of the Petroleum Industry Act, which aimed to attract new investors and investments into the next stage of oil and gas exploration in Nigeria, he claimed that the bid rounds were conducted within the bounds of the commission's legal and regulatory frameworks.

Timipre Sylva, the minister of state for petroleum resources, also spoke at the news conference and disclosed that the bidding process was designed with consideration for global sustainability goals.

Intriguingly, the minister noted, Nigeria's oil and gas sector has accepted the reality of the energy transition and is assuming a strategic position to capitalize on the prospects offered by the new era.