Nigeria, Sao Tome to Open Oil Bids in Gulf of Guinea

Home>>World

Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, July 29, 2002

Nigeria, Sao Tome to Open Oil Bids in Gulf of Guinea

DISCUSSION

CHINESE

SEND TO FRIEND

Nigeria, and Sao Tome and Principe will open bids next month for the awards of oil blocks at the Joint Development Zone (JDZ) created by the two countries in the deep waters of the Gulf of Guinea, This Day daily reported Monday.

Officials from the office of Presidential Adviser on Petroleum and Energy were quoted as saying that a total of nine blocks will be put on offer in the JDZ, which was said to hold an estimated 4 billion barrels of oil.

According to the report, multinational oil companies includingExxon-Mobil, Chevron-Texaco and Phillips have sent in their bids to compete for the oil fields.

Under the JDZ arrangement, Nigeria's share of the reserves in the region is 60 percent and the remaining share of 40 percent is held by Sao Tome and Principe.

Sao Tome and Principe is a tiny island nation located in the oil-rich Gulf of Guinea, off the coast of Nigeria, Africa's largest oil producer with a daily output of around 2 million barrels.

Earlier this month, the Nigerian government offered Sao Tome and Principe a loan of 50 million US dollars to develop its oil and gas sector.

President Olusegun Obasanjo and his Sao Tome's counterpart Fredrique de Menezes also held talks on the possibility of establishing a joint refinery.

The strategic position of San Tome and Principe in the Gulf of Guinea has helped boost Nigeria's relationship with the tiny island country, which Nigeria regards as very critical to the security of oil reserves in the west African region.

Questions?Comments? Click here

Renminbi Appeals Increasingly to Domestic Users: Statistics ( 8 Messages)

Institutional Guarantee for the Selection and Appointment of Capable People ( 2 Messages)

News Analysis: Why China Ranks Sixth in World Trade ( 3 Messages)

Missing Worker Found, Relatives Mourn ( 80 Messages)

China Protests over Falun Gong Resolution by US Congress ( 13 Messages)

Secret of China's Manned 'Spaceport' Revealed ( 98 Messages)