"We have now reached the moment of decision towards the conclusion of the much-awaited 2004 JDZ Licensing Rounds following the response from ExxonMobil on the exercise of their rights", the paper's Onyebuchi Ezigbo quoted Nigerian foreign Minister A.A. Tanko as saying.
The story raises again a question about the wording of a press release issued on April 13 by the JDA in which it said ExxonMobil has the right to participate in "all" awards of acreage. The multinational giant on April 9 elected not to exercise any of its two 25 percent preferential entitlements in two of the five blocks on offer in the 2004 licensing round, where bidding concluded on Dec. 15 without an XOM selection. It is not clear how ExxonMobil could continue to participate in this round, and most doubt it will. The story reopens that issue without clearly stating that ExxonMobil itself has ruled out participation in Round 2.
The reporter took pains to point out that the delegation of ministers from Sao Tome and Principe "arrived late," suggesting that some friction over awards between the two nations still exists but was at least partly resolved by yesterday's payment to the JDA of the $123 million signature bonus for Block 1 that had been delayed by ExxonMobil's consideration of a new "transparency" clause that has now been incorporated in the Prduction Sharing Contract for Block 1.
Here is the ThisDay story:
JDZ Oil Blocks: Companies May Know Fate Today
From Onyebuchi Ezigbo
04.27.2005
ABUJA -- Ministers from Nigeria and Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe (DRSTP) appear set to release the result of the 2004 Licensing Rounds for five oil blocks (Blocks 2,3,4,5, and 6) whose bids were opened November, 2004.
The Ministers yesterday went into a close-door session in Abuja aimed at settling once and for, all issues holding up the announcement of results for the bid.
The ministers from Sao Tome who arrived Abuja, late Monday night said they were full of optimism that the meeting would thrash out the remaining issues to enable actual development of the oil blocks to commence.
Addressing the opening session of the Joint Ministerial Meeting, Nigeria's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Alhaji Abubakar Tanko, said the authorities of the Joint Development Zone is moving towards the conclusion of the much-awaited 2004 JDZ Licensing Rounds with the response from ExxonMobil on the exercise of their rights.
Apart from concluding action on the oil blocks, the meeting will also consider some key administrative issues such as the Joint Development Authority (JDA) 2005 Budget and other activities that are geared towards furthering the objectives of JDZ.
Tanko explained the several delays that have accompanied the implementation of the 2004 Licensing Rounds, saying the need for the parties to work within the dictates of contractual agreements necessitated the shift from the scheduled date of announcement of bids result last December, 2004.
"We have now reached the moment of decision towards the conclusion of the much-awaited 2004 JDZ Licensing Rounds following the response from ExxonMobil on the exercise of their rights," he said.
He recalled that a lot has happened in the JDA, an organ charged with the responsibility for managing and developing the petroleum and other natural resources in the JDZ for the benefit of the governments and peoples of the two countries.
Some of the achievements so far recorded by the JDA included the signing of the Production Sharing Contract (PSC) for Block One in February 2005 in Sao Tome, the commencement of the 2004 bidding rounds and payment of signature bonus by the contractors for Block One.
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