NUPRC opens 50 oil and gas blocks in 2025 licensing round
NUPRC says only technically capable and financially strong firms will qualify, as government resets bidding rules to attract serious upstream investors.
Nigeria is reopening its upstream oil and gas sector to investors, but this time with a warning attached. Only companies with the technical depth and financial strength to deliver real production will be allowed through the door.
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission has opened 50 oil and gas blocks for bidding in the 2025 licensing round, spanning five of the country’s seven sedimentary basins. The move signals a renewed push to grow reserves and stabilise production, while deliberately shutting out speculative players that have historically slowed development in the sector.
Speaking during the 2025 licensing round pre-bid webinar on Wednesday, Chief Executive of the NUPRC, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, said the exercise is designed to reposition Nigeria’s upstream industry as a transparent, rules-based destination for serious, long-term investment.
She described the licensing round as a strategic intervention rather than a routine asset sale, noting that Nigeria must compete for mobile global capital in an increasingly uncertain energy market.
“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,” Eyesan said.
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According to her, the commission has adopted a strictly merit-based process that places technical competence, financial capacity and credible development plans above aggressive cash offers. She stressed that only bidders with proven capability and professionalism would advance beyond the initial stages.
“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,” she said.
The 50 oil and gas blocks on offer are spread across both mature and frontier basins, a structure the commission says is intended to balance near-term production opportunities with longer-term exploration potential.
“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,” Eyesan said.
A major shift in the 2025 round is the commercial structure. With the approval of President Bola Tinubu, the NUPRC has reviewed signature bonus requirements to reduce entry barriers while discouraging unserious bidders. Signature bonuses have been set within a range of US$3m to US$7m, with less emphasis on upfront payments and more focus on work programmes and speed to production.
Eyesan said the adjustment reflects the realities of global capital mobility and intensifying competition among oil-producing countries for investment.
“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.
She added that the decision was taken deliberately to make Nigeria more competitive at a time when investors are increasingly selective about where they deploy capital.
“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,” Eyesan said.
According to the commission, the licensing round will follow a five-stage process, beginning with registration and pre-qualification, followed by data acquisition, technical bid submission, evaluation and a commercial bid conference.
Eyesan stressed that the entire process would comply strictly with the Petroleum Industry Act 2021, with digital tools deployed throughout to ensure transparency, accountability and public confidence.
With the 2025 licensing round, the regulator is making it clear that Nigeria is not just selling assets, but resetting expectations around who gets to develop them and how quickly they must deliver results.
