The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has launched the 2025 oil and gas licensing round, placing 50 blocks across five sedimentary basins on offer for bidding and exploration, with a clear warning that only firms with proven technical expertise and strong financial capacity will succeed.
The Commission explained that the licensing round is structured to discourage speculative bids and reposition Nigeria’s upstream industry as a transparent, rules-driven environment attractive to long-term investors.
The Chief Executive of NUPRC, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, disclosed this on Wednesday, the 28th of January, 2026, during the pre-bid webinar for the 2025 licensing round, where the regulator detailed the bidding framework, evaluation benchmarks, and commercial terms guiding the process.
According to Eyesan, the exercise should be seen as a deliberate strategy to boost reserves, enhance production levels, and reinforce Nigeria’s energy security at a time of rapid changes in the global energy sector.
“This upstream sector is serious business. It is for long-term investment, and it is an open invitation to partnership, transparency, and shared responsibility as we work together to shape the next phase of Nigeria’s upstream oil and gas industry,” she said.
She noted that the Commission has adopted a strictly merit-based system that prioritises technical competence and financial strength in selecting successful bidders.
“Only candidates with strong technical and financial credentials, professionalism, and credible plans will move forward. Winners will be chosen through a transparent, merit-based process that takes you from award to exploration, appraisal, and ultimately full production,” Eyesan stated.
Eyesan further revealed that the 50 blocks being offered are located across five of Nigeria’s seven sedimentary basins, providing opportunities in both frontier and established areas.
“In this licensing round, 50 oil and gas blocks across Nigeria are available, allowing investors to access the country’s key basins and create long-term value,” she said.
She added that, following the approval of President Bola Tinubu, the commercial framework for the bid round had been adjusted to reduce entry barriers while screening out unserious participants.
According to her, signature bonuses for the 2025 licensing round have been fixed within a range of $3 million to $7 million, with more attention given to work programmes and speed to production rather than aggressive cash offers.
The Commission Chief Executive explained that the revised structure gives greater weight to technical capability, credible development plans, and timely delivery of production, as Nigeria competes for globally mobile capital amid tightening energy supply concerns.
“With the approval of His Excellency, President Bola Tinubu, signature bonuses for the 2025 licensing round are now set within a value range of $3m–$7m that reduces entry barriers and places greater weight on what truly matters, technical capability, credible work programmes, financial strength, and the ability to deliver production within the shortest possible time,” she said.
Eyesan noted that the decision reflects the realities of global capital movement and Nigeria’s need to remain competitive in attracting serious, long-term upstream investors.
“This has been done deliberately to increase competitiveness and in response to capital mobility. The upstream sector is serious business. It is for long-term investment, and it is an open invitation to partnership, transparency, and shared responsibility,” she stated.
She also outlined that the licensing round would follow a five-stage process, including registration and pre-qualification, data access, technical bid submission, evaluation, and a commercial bid conference.
Eyesan stressed that the entire exercise would strictly adhere to the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, with digital platforms deployed to enhance transparency and accountability.
“Let me emphasise clearly that the bid process will comply with the Petroleum Industry Act, promote the use of digital tools for smooth data access and remain open to public and institutional scrutiny through NEITI and other oversight agencies,” she said.
She added that all relevant licensing documents had been available on the Commission’s portal since the 1st of December, 2025, alongside dedicated support channels to promptly address investor enquiries.
Reaffirming the Commission’s stance, Eyesan said the process would fully comply with the PIA 2021, leveraging digital tools to ensure openness and public oversight.
“The bid process will comply strictly with the PIA, promote the use of digital tools for smooth data access, and remain open to public, international, and institutional scrutiny through NEITI and other oversight agencies,” she said.
She concluded that the 2025 licensing round sends a strong message to global investors that Nigeria’s upstream industry has been repositioned for sustainable, long-term value.
“Let me emphasise clearly that the Nigeria 2025 Licensing Round is not merely a bidding exercise. It is a clear signal of a re-imagined upstream sector, anchored on the rule of law, driven by data, aligned with global investment realities, and focused on long-term value creation,” Eyesan said.
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Providing further technical insight, the Director of Lease Administration, Exploration and Acreage Management at NUPRC, Amber Ndoma-Egba, explained that the licensing round covers assets in the Chad Basin, Benue Trough, Anambra Basin, Bida Basin, and the Niger Delta Basin.
He said technical assessments would focus on subsurface understanding, exploration work programmes, development strategies, sustainability goals, host community plans, and full lifecycle management.
“We look at your understanding of the block, your subsurface evaluation, your exploration work programme, your development and production concept, sustainability, decarbonisation objectives, and host community development. Technically weak firms will not scale through this process. We have seven sedimentary basins in Nigeria. We have the Sokoto Basin, the Chad Basin. We have the Benin trough, the Bida Basin, the Anambra Basin, the Benin Basin, and, of course, the mature Niger Delta Basin.
This licensing round will take place across five of the seven sedimentary basins,” Ndoma-Egba said.
On the commercial framework, he disclosed that the Commission approved a minimum work performance security of one per cent to encourage investment, while allowing bidders to increase it voluntarily to improve their technical scores.
“The Commission Chief Executive, in the spirit of enablement and support for investment, has approved that the minimum work performance security should be one per cent. However, bidders may boost this if they want a higher weighting in their score,” he said.
Ndoma-Egba added that bidders are required to clearly define their exploration programmes within the initial exploration period of three years for onshore blocks and five years for deepwater and frontier assets.
“We look at your understanding of the block, your subsurface evaluation, your exploration work programme, your development and production concept, evacuation and facilities planning, sustainability, decarbonisation objectives, and host community development,” he said.
He further confirmed that final winners would be determined using a weighted combination of technical and commercial scores, in line with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act.
The NUPRC had earlier, on the 1st of December, 2025, formally announced the commencement of the 2025 petroleum licensing round, with expectations of attracting about $10 billion in new investments.