The Federal Government has announced that 13 of the 50 oil and gas blocks offered during the 2025 Licensing Round will be returned to the licensing pool after failing to attract any commercial bids from investors.
The disclosure was made on Tuesday in Abuja by the Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, during the 2025 Commercial Bid Conference.
Eyesan explained that although the government placed 50 oil and gas assets on offer during the licensing exercise, only 37 blocks received commercial bids from qualified investors.
“At the end of the exercise, we had 50 blocks on offer, but we only had representation for 37 of those 50 blocks. Thirteen of those blocks will be returning back to the basket,” she said.
She revealed that despite the unbid assets, the licensing exercise attracted significant investor participation, with 143 companies submitting approximately 200 commercial bids for the available oil blocks.
“We have a total of 143 companies showing interest for 200 bids. That, for us, was remarkable, and I must say thank you,” Eyesan stated.
According to the NUPRC chief executive, the response from investors reflects renewed confidence in Nigeria’s upstream petroleum industry following recent reforms introduced under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
She disclosed that when the licensing process commenced, nearly 300 companies indicated interest in participating.
“When we started the journey, we got interest from almost 300 companies. I repeat, almost 300 companies. That, in my view, was an indication that the tide has turned for Nigeria,” she said.
Eyesan explained that the number of interested companies reduced after the commission concluded the prequalification process.
“From the almost 300 interests that we got, we moved to the pre-qualification stage, and that number was pruned down to 196,” she added.
Following further technical and commercial evaluations, 143 companies eventually qualified to participate in the commercial bid stage, submitting close to 200 bids for the available acreage.
The Federal Government officially launched the 2025 Licensing Round on November 11, 2025, in accordance with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, offering a total of 50 oil and gas blocks spread across seven sedimentary basins.
The offered assets comprised 16 onshore blocks in the Niger Delta, 18 shallow water blocks, one deep offshore block, three blocks located in the Benin Basin, four blocks in the Anambra Basin, four in the Chad Basin and another four in the Benue Trough.
The licensing process formally commenced on December 1, 2025, when the bid portal opened for interested investors.
To guide prospective bidders through the application process, the commission organised a pre-bid conference in Lagos on January 14, 2026, where participants received detailed information on regulatory requirements and bidding procedures.
Submission of registration documents and prequalification applications closed on February 27, 2026, while the NUPRC completed the prequalification assessment on March 16, 2026.
Eyesan noted that the successful bidders are not determined solely by the size of their financial offers but through a comprehensive evaluation process designed to ensure only technically and financially capable investors secure petroleum assets.
According to the commission, bids are assessed using a weighted scoring system that considers signature bonus commitments, proposed exploration and development work programmes, and the provision of performance security.
The approach, she explained, is intended to ensure that oil and gas assets are awarded to investors with the financial capacity, operational competence and technical expertise required to boost exploration activities and increase crude oil production in Nigeria.
The Federal Government expects the licensing exercise to attract fresh investments into the upstream sector while supporting efforts to expand reserves, increase production capacity and strengthen the country’s position in the global energy market.
