Nigeria Plans “Major” Licensing Round

Companies wanting to increase their holdings in Nigeria or gain access to the West African country’s petroleum sector will have a chance in a new licensing round that is expected before the end of 2012.

The country’s oil minister Diezani Alison-Madueke was cited in a Reuters interview as saying that Nigeria would host a marginal round and hoped that a “major bid round will follow before the end of the year."

While the government may plan for a major licensing round, there is not guarantee that it will take place and if it does it will be the first major round the country has hosted in about five years. Nigeria has postponed and canceled more than one licensing round over the years.