State-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Company signed strategic agreements with its global oil companies for five major oil blocs, unlocking revenues worth over $500 billion for the West African nation.

The agreement will put to an end the protracted dispute between the company and the contractor parties in oil mining leases (OMLs) 128, 130, 132 and 133, as well as 138 production sharing contracts (PSCs), the company said in a statement.

The new PSCs are a key milestone achievement by NNPC, which will unlock opportunities within the upstream sector.

NNPC Group CEO Mallam Kyari said renegotiations of the assets were in line with the provisions of section 311 of the Petroleum Industry Act with other improvements with PSCs aimed at driving performances in the PSC operations, the statement said.

NNPC’s subsidiary National Petroleum Investment Management Service’s Group General Manager Bala Wuntisaid the signing will lead to the production of 10 billion barrels of oil, Premium Times reported.

The execution of the revised PSCs will deepen investment and development of Nigeria’s rich petroleum resources and ensure the trifold mandate of the NNPC to ensure the security of energy supply and sustainability of energy supply, he stated.

(Editing by Seban Scaria seban.scaria@lseg.com )