NUPRC Sets Strict Criteria, Reassures Investors as Nigeria Offers 50 Oil and Gas Blocks in 2025 Licensing Round

• NUPRC lowers entry barriers for bidders, expects higher performance
• 50 Blocks up for grabs

 

Nigeria has formally opened 50 oil and gas blocks to investors under its 2025 Oil and Gas Licensing Round, with the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) making it clear that only bidders with strong technical capacity, financial strength, and credible development plans will progress through the process.

The Commission said the licensing round is intentionally designed to prioritise quality over speculation, lower entry barriers, and attract serious, long-term capital capable of moving assets swiftly from licence award to production.

Speaking at a Pre-Bid Webinar on Wednesday, January 28, 2026, the NUPRC’s Chief Executive, Mrs. Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, assured investors that the process would be transparent, merit-based, and fully compliant with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), with strict adherence to published guidelines.

The 2025 Licensing Round, inaugurated on December 1, 2025, offers 50 oil and gas blocks spanning Nigeria’s key producing and frontier basins, underscoring the country’s renewed push to reposition its upstream sector for competitiveness, investment confidence, and sustainable value creation.

• Niger Delta Basin: 35 blocks
• Benin Basin (Frontier): 3 blocks
• Anambra Basin (Frontier): 4 blocks
• Benue Basin (Frontier): 4 blocks
• Chad Basin (Frontier): 4 blocks

According to the Commission, the range of assets provides investors with access to both mature producing terrains and frontier exploration opportunities, within a stable and rules-based regulatory environment.

Eyesan outlined a five-stage licensing framework, designed to ensure clarity, predictability, and competitiveness:

• Registration and pre-qualification
• Data acquisition
• Technical bid submission
• Technical and financial evaluation
• Commercial bid conference

“Only candidates with strong technical and financial credentials, professionalism, and credible plans will move forward,” she said, adding that winners will emerge strictly through a transparent, merit-based procedure.

With the approval of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Commission confirmed that signature bonuses for the 2025 Licensing Round have been set within a range that lowers entry barriers, while placing greater emphasis on technical capability, credible work programmes, financial strength and speed to first production

“This adjustment is deliberate,” Eyesan explained. “It responds to capital mobility and increases competitiveness, while ensuring that only serious and capable investors are awarded assets.”

The Commission Chief Executive (CCE) described the licensing round as an open call for committed partners, stressing that Nigeria is repositioning its upstream sector to compete for increasingly selective global investment capital.

“Energy security and supply resilience are now key global economic and geopolitical priorities. Capital is disciplined and selective,” she said.

“Our national priority is clear: to attract capital, grow reserves, and improve production in a responsible and sustainable manner. A structured and transparent licensing round is essential to achieving these objectives.”

In a vivid metaphor, Eyesan stated that Nigeria is “ready to be the beautiful bride to capital and a playground for advanced technological deployment for hydrocarbon recovery.”

The Commission reiterated that the entire bid process will:

• Fully comply with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA)
• Be conducted on a digital bid portal, live since December 1, 2025
• Remain open to scrutiny by the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) and other oversight institutions

Dedicated help channels, Eyesan added, are in place to support prospective bidders throughout the process.

According to the NUPRC, the 2025 Licensing Round is not merely a commercial exercise, but a strategic signal of Nigeria’s upstream reset.

“Let me emphasise that the Nigeria 2025 Licensing Round is not merely a bidding exercise,” Eyesan said. “It is a clear signal of a re-imagined upstream sector, anchored in the rule of law, driven by data, aligned with global investment realities, and focused on long-term value creation.”

During the webinar, NUPRC subject matter experts walked investors through guidelines, model contracts, bid parameters, and evaluation criteria, aimed at reducing uncertainty and reinforcing confidence in Nigeria’s regulatory framework.