Oil block winners face October deadline as NUPRC begins signature bonus collection
The 31 companies awarded 37 oil and gas blocks have about 60 days to pay their signature bonuses and meet other requirements or risk losing the assets to reserve bidders
The 31 companies awarded 37 gas and oil block in Nigeria’s 2025 Licensing Round have until October 19 to pay their signature bonuses and complete other post-award requirements or risk losing the assets to reserve bidders.
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission said on Sunday that the compliance process had commenced following the issuance of provisional awards to the successful bidders.
The deadline puts the companies on a 90-day payment clock prescribed under the Petroleum Industry Act, with about 60 days remaining after one month had elapsed since the commercial bid conference and provisional awards.
“Exactly a month ago, the NUPRC hosted the 2025 commercial bid conference in Abuja where 31 companies emerged winners of 37 oil and gas blocks. Having issued the winners with the provisional awards, compliance with the payment of signature bonuses has already begun,” the commission said in a notice.
The regulator warned that companies that fail to meet the payment deadline would forfeit their bid guarantees and lose their provisional awards to the next ranked reserve bidders.
The signature bonuses for the awarded blocks range from US$ 3 million to US$ 7 million per block, meaning the companies face significant financial commitments before the awards can be converted into firm licences.
Beyond the signature bonuses, successful bidders are required to provide the prescribed guarantees, pay first-year rents and meet other post-award conditions within the stipulated period.
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The 37 blocks cover petroleum prospects across Nigeria’s Niger Delta onshore, shallow water and deep offshore areas, as well as frontier basins.
The awarded assets include blocks in the Niger Delta, deep offshore, Benin Basin, Anambra Basin, Chad Basin and Benue Trough.
The licensing round attracted 143 companies, which submitted about 200 bids for the 37 blocks eventually awarded. However, 13 of the 50 blocks initially offered received no bids.
The NUPRC had earlier urged successful bidders to make the required payments promptly and begin developing the assets.
Under the Petroleum Industry Act, failure to meet the conditions attached to a provisional award within the prescribed period triggers the loss of the bid guarantee and reassignment of the affected block to the designated reserve bidder.
The NUPRC has published the names of the 31 successful companies alongside the ranked reserve bidders for each of the 37 blocks.
The development marks the next stage of the licensing round after the bidding and award process, with the regulator now shifting its focus to ensuring that successful companies fulfil their financial and contractual obligations.
Companies that meet the requirements within the 90-day window will proceed with the next stages of securing their interests in the awarded assets, while those that fail to comply could see their blocks transferred to other bidders.
