In a statement issued on Tuesday, the NUPRC said this was done in the spirit of transparency as envisaged by the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), 2021.

The commission also clarified that 220 oil blocks were not abandoned but are awaiting concessions in line with section 7(t) of the PIA 2021 which empowers it to conduct periodic licensing rounds and grant petroleum prospecting licence (PPL) and petroleum mining leases (PMLs) to prospective investors.

The commission added that the 220 oil blocks would be handed to concessionaires after periodic bid rounds and conditions had been met.

The upstream regulator said a trending report on the so-called abandoned oil blocks was a misinterpretation of the information that it had put up on its website.

While urging the media to be circumspect in its reportage and prioritise national interest, the upstream regulator advised members of the public to visit its website https://www.nuprc.gov.ng/ for accurate information on its activities.

The post NUPRC publishes concession status of 243 oil blocks, denies abandonment claims first appeared on The Times of Abuja.