It was also reported this week that 10 Nigerian and foreign companies were provisionally offered preferential rights to a cluster of blocks under the ongoing licensing round, in which 17 having been formally earmarked by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) for the purpose. In some cases rights of second refusal have been offered.
China National Petroleum Corporation is understood to have secured up to four blocks by committing investment to the proposed new Kaduna railway, while the China National Overseas Oil Corporation (CNOOC) is similarly seeking rights to seven blocks in return for persuading the China Import-Export Bank to offer a $2.5
