The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has extended the deadline for companies to submit applications for 2012-2013 crude oil term contracts to May 11, from the original April 5 deadline.

“All interested applicants are given two weeks effective April 30-May 11 to submit their applications for lifting of Nigerian crude oil during the 2012/2013 contract years,” the corporation has announced in a notice.

Initially, NNPC solicited applications for the 2012-2013 contract on March 21 and 22, with the original deadline of April 5. It is not clear why NNPC has extended the deadline.

The latest invitation said applicants should be either refineries, “established and globally recognized volume traders” or Nigerian oil and gas companies.