NNPC Oil Block Sale Held Up as New Auction Nears

Nigeria’s plan to sell some oil blocks through the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has stalled, with the process still awaiting approval nearly three months after bids closed.

The tender, known as Project Delta, reached its bidding deadline on June 18 but has not proceeded to the next stage. Standard Chartered, the British bank hired by the NNPC to manage the sale, has received no further instruction for several weeks.

The delay comes as another oil asset auction prepares to open in October under the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), the industry regulator.

The NNPC had already changed the Project Delta timetable before the June deadline. In a letter dated April 22, the corporation extended the original April 28 deadline to June 4 and included about 10 additional blocks on the list.

The deadline was later set for June 18, but the process stopped after interested companies submitted their bids. The NNPC declined to comment when contacted by Africa Intelligence.

Presidency faces oil block lobbying

The suspension of Project Delta has coincided with political negotiations around President Bola Tinubu and his planned bid for re-election in 2027.

Several influential presidential advisers and close associates have lobbied to stop the NNPC-led sale and favour some companies over others, the report said.

Project Delta was launched under Bayo Bashir Ojulari, head of the NNPC, only months before the presidential election scheduled for January 16, 2027.

The planned sale also comes after an earlier attempt by Mele Kyari, Ojulari’s predecessor, to attract investors to selected oil blocks.

Kyari had pursued that programme shortly before his dismissal. The project was abandoned after his departure from the NNPC.

Project Delta has therefore become another attempt by the national oil company to attract buyers for some of its oil assets. For now, however, the process has not gone past the bidding stage.

Standard Chartered remains in position to handle the next stage once the NNPC gives the required approval.

NUPRC auction brings new players

The NNPC process is taking place alongside a separate oil asset auction being handled by the NUPRC.

The regulator’s next tender will focus on marginal oil fields and is expected to start in October. The process is being prepared by teams led by Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan.

The NUPRC had already announced results from an earlier auction on July 21. Thirty-one oil companies were awarded 37 of the 50 blocks offered in that exercise.

Most of the successful companies were unfamiliar names in the oil industry. Dutchford E&P, led by businesswoman Olatimbo Ayinde, was among those selected.

Ayinde secured PPL 2A32 after receiving a 100 per cent rating in the bidding process. Her bid defeated about 10 others, including one submitted by the NNPC.

The two oil asset processes now sit at different stages. The NUPRC is preparing its marginal field tender for October, whereas the NNPC’s Project Delta is waiting for approval to proceed after bids were submitted in June.