Nigerian Civil society groups decry exclusion from process by the Government

Nigerian civil society groups on Wednesday decried their exclusion by the government from the processes involved in the forthcoming 2020 marginal oil fields bid round. The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) had a few days ago opened the bid process for the award of 57 new oil licences to prospective Nigerian companies and investors interested in the exploration and production (E&P) activities But the group complained that the published bid guidelines by the Department did not involve CSOs among agencies that would monitor the exercise. In a letter dated June 15 to the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) Director, Sarki Auwalu, the group specifically demanded immediate inclusion of at least two civil society representatives as members of the bidders screening team even as observers in order to build public trust and investors’ confidence in the exercise.