Nigeria awards 37 oil blocks as investors face 90-day deadline
Licensing round concludes with 31 companies emerging preferred bidders, while regulators insist new licences must lead to production, not speculation.
Winning oil blocks is only the first hurdle for the 31 companies selected under Nigeria’s 2025 Licensing Round.
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has given the preferred bidders 90 days to pay their signature bonuses and meet other statutory requirements or risk losing their licences to reserve bidders, signalling a tougher approach aimed at ensuring oil blocks translate into exploration and production rather than speculation.
The announcement concludes an eight-month licensing exercise that attracted strong investor interest, with 143 companies submitting about 200 bids for the available blocks.
Under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, the successful companies must fulfil all post-award conditions before Petroleum Prospecting Licences can be issued. Any company that fails to meet the requirements within the stipulated period will forfeit its allocation, allowing the commission to invite reserve bidders.
Speaking after the commercial bid conference in Abuja, NUPRC Commission Chief Executive, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, said the exercise demonstrated the commission’s commitment to transparency despite attempts to undermine the process.
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According to her, members of the evaluation committee received repeated threats and pressure throughout the assessment period but refused to compromise the integrity of the licensing round.
“It has been a journey. If you have been told anything contrary to the fact that this process was going to be credible and transparent, do not believe it,” she said.
Eyesan revealed that the intimidation continued until the eve of the commercial bid opening, commending the evaluation team for standing its ground despite sustained pressure.
“The evaluators have worked tirelessly since June 12. They have been inundated with calls and serious threats, but they stood their ground. Up until yesterday, we were still threatened, but we stood our ground to say that the times have changed. Nigeria is really open for business,” she added.
She also acknowledged observers from the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) for supporting the process and reinforcing public confidence in the exercise.
The commission said the commercial bidding process relied on an automated weighted scoring system designed to minimise human interference. Technical evaluations were completed before commercial bids were opened publicly, while the scoring system combined signature bonuses, work programme commitments and performance guarantees.
Officials stressed that no member of the evaluation team had prior access to the commercial bids before the opening ceremony.
The successful bidders include SSonic Petroleum Limited, Asharami, Saratoga, Volante, LexOil, Network E&P, Blueridge E&P, Stardeep Petroleum, Southborne Oil and Gas Limited, Lanaka Petroleum, Highban Resources Limited and several other indigenous energy companies.
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, said the Petroleum Industry Act has fundamentally changed how oil blocks are awarded in Nigeria by eliminating discretionary allocations.
“The PIA has prevented discretionary allocation of oil blocks,” he said, adding that the legislation has strengthened fairness, transparency and investor confidence in the licensing process.
Lokpobiri also urged the successful bidders to move quickly from licence acquisition to field development, warning against treating petroleum licences as speculative assets.
“In the past, people travelled around the world carrying licences in search of partners who never came. Those days must be over. The licences issued today must translate into actual field development and production,” he said.
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, said the licensing round reflects the government’s broader objective of attracting investment, increasing exploration and unlocking more value from Nigeria’s hydrocarbon resources.
The outcome of the licensing round will now be judged not only by the licences awarded but by how quickly the successful bidders move into exploration and production, helping Nigeria boost crude oil output, expand gas development and attract long-term investment into its upstream sector.
