THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Nigeria Govt Revokes 24 Oil Licenses: “The Nigerian government has revoked development rights for 24 undeveloped oil blocks and will offer them again in the country's next major oil licensing round, an official of the country's oil industry regulatory agency said Tuesday. The blocks had been awarded to oil majors including Royal Dutch/Shell Group…” (ShellNews.net) Posted 12 Jan 05

DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

LAGOS -- The Nigerian government has revoked development rights for 24 undeveloped oil blocks and will offer them again in the country's next major oil licensing round, an official of the country's oil industry regulatory agency said Tuesday.

The blocks had been awarded to oil majors including Royal Dutch/Shell Group (RD SC), ChevronTexaco Corp. (CVX), as well as small oil companies, according to the Department of Petroleum Resources official.

A Shell spokesman in London said the company had been informed as was asking the government to reconsider its decision.

He said the previous owners of the blocks had held them for at least 10 years, beyond which the government can revoke development rights.

"The government felt the thing to do was to reacquire them and make them part of the next licensing round," he said.

The DPR announced last year it was reducing the size of Nigeria's oil blocks preparatory to the offer of the fields this year, the second open competitive bidding since the first one done in 2000. The government hasn't issued a date but the round is expected before the end of March.

The withdrawal of the blocks had been previously announced in October

-By Vincent Nwanma, Dow Jones Newswires, +234-1-585-0840; vinwanma@beta.linkserve.com

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