Nigeria’s oil and gas licensing round reaches its climax Tuesday, as the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission announces winning bidders for 50 oil and gas blocks at a Commercial Bid Conference in Abuja.
Of 286 companies that initially applied, 196 were prequalified, and 143 ultimately submitted 200 bids across onshore, shallow-water, deep-offshore and frontier basin blocks spanning the Niger Delta, Chad Basin, Benue Trough, Anambra and Benin basins.
NUPRC Chief Executive Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan said the process — spanning registration, data acquisition, technical bidding and evaluation — was designed to attract serious, long-term capital while excluding weaker applicants, with bids assessed on signature bonus, work programme commitment, and performance security. Signature bonuses were fixed within a $3–7 million range per block.
The round, approved by President Tinubu in December 2025 under the Petroleum Industry Act, targets roughly $10 billion in fresh investment and aims to add up to 2 billion barrels of oil reserves over the next decade, with potential production of 400,000 barrels per day once blocks become fully operational. Formal contracts are expected between July and October.
Also read: SERAP threatens legal action over social media bill
Leave feedback about this
You must be logged in to post a comment.