Nigeria's presidential adviser on petroleum, Edmund Daukoru, told media in London this week that the 12 offshore blocks could attract bids worth a total of about US$960 million, while the shallow offshore and onshore blocks could attract bids totalling about US$240 million.

Nigeria began marketing these blocks to international investors last month and the process will culminate in a July bidding conference.

Nigeria, Africa’s sole OPEC member, currently produces about 2.3 million barrels of oil per day. But more giant offshore discoveries could take that output towards 4m bopd within the next five years.