The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has declared 31 companies as preferred winners of 37 oil and gas blocks under the 2025 Licensing Round, concluding an eight-month bid process. Successful bidders have 90 days to pay signature bonuses and meet post-award requirements or risk losing the assets to reserve bidders.
Speaking at the commercial bid conference in Abuja, NUPRC Chief Executive Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan said members of the evaluation team faced repeated threats and intimidation throughout the licensing process but remained committed to ensuring a transparent and credible exercise.
A total of 143 companies submitted about 200 bids for the 37 blocks out of the 50 assets offered. Eyesan said the successful firms have only emerged as preferred bidders and will receive Petroleum Prospecting Licences after fulfilling all statutory conditions under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
She explained that the commercial bid process was fully automated, with technical evaluations completed before commercial bids were publicly opened, eliminating human interference in the scoring process.
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, said the PIA has ended the era of discretionary allocation of oil blocks, adding that the law guarantees fairness and credibility in the licensing process.
Lokpobiri also warned successful bidders against treating the licences as speculative assets, urging them to develop the fields rather than merely seek investment partners.
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, said the licensing round reflects the Federal Government’s commitment to transparency, competitiveness and attracting investment into Nigeria’s upstream petroleum sector.
