Hundreds of firms vie for Nigerian oil

[unhappycamper]

Hundreds of firms vie for Nigerian oil
Friday 26 August 2005, 14:31 Makka Time, 11:31 GMT

Nigeria, an OPEC member, was to announce winners on Friday from among 300 local and global energy companies angling for exploration rights in over 75 parcels from Lake Chad in the northeast to plots in the Gulf of Guinea.

Nigeria deputy oil minister Edmund Daukoru said winners will be required to pay between US$500,000 and US$50 million as "signature bonus" for their oil licenses in Nigeria's largest-ever exploration offering since oil was discovered nearly 50 years ago.

The country has toughened contract terms, betting that with prices at above $67 a barrel it can attract strong bids for the areas on offer, particularly in the deep waters of the Gulf of Guinea.

"As this is Nigeria's first bid round it's virgin territory. It's a huge round, there's lots of interest and there's a wide variety of geology. It will be full of surprises," said a senior Western oil executive who is bidding for a deepwater block.

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http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/22598142-6789-4444-BD10-2B3FE8BFB1E8.htm

[demnan]

1. This kind of news

gives Cheney a hard-on.