The Federal Government has announced that 13 of the 50 oil and gas blocks offered under the Nigeria 2025 Licensing Round will be returned to the licensing pool after they failed to attract bids from prospective investors.
The Commission Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, disclosed this on Tuesday during the 2025 Commercial Bid Conference in Abuja.
Eyesan said that although 50 oil and gas blocks were initially placed on offer, investors submitted bids for only 37, leaving 13 assets without any representation.
“At the end of the exercise, we had 50 blocks on offer, but we only had representation for 37 of those 50 blocks.
“Thirteen of those blocks will be returning back to the basket,” she said.
Despite the lack of bids for the 13 assets, the NUPRC chief described the overall level of participation in the licensing exercise as remarkable.
She disclosed that 143 companies eventually participated in the commercial bidding process, submitting approximately 200 bids for the available assets.
“We have a total of 143 companies showing interest for 200 bids. That, for us, was remarkable, and I must say thank you,” Eyesan stated.
According to her, almost 300 indigenous and international companies initially expressed interest in participating in the licensing round, a development she described as evidence of renewed confidence in Nigeria’s upstream petroleum industry.
“When we started the journey, we got interest from almost 300 companies. I repeat, almost 300 companies. That, in my view, was an indication that the tide has turned for Nigeria,” she said.
Eyesan explained that the number was reduced to 196 companies following the registration and prequalification stage, during which applicants were assessed based on their financial strength, technical competence and capacity to develop petroleum assets.
“From the almost 300 interests that we got, we moved to the prequalification stage, and that number was pruned down to 196,” she added.
Of the 196 prequalified companies, 143 proceeded to the commercial bidding stage and submitted about 200 bids, with investor interest concentrated on 37 of the 50 assets offered.
The 2025 Licensing Round was announced on November 11, 2025, in accordance with the Petroleum Industry Act 2021 as part of the Federal Government’s efforts to attract investment, increase exploration activities and expand Nigeria’s oil and gas reserves and production capacity.
The 50 assets comprise 16 onshore blocks in the Niger Delta, 18 shallow-water blocks, one deep-offshore block and 15 frontier basin opportunities.
The frontier assets consist of three blocks in the Benin Basin, four in the Anambra Basin, four in the Chad Basin and four in the Benue Trough.
The licensing portal was formally opened on December 1, 2025, while the NUPRC held a pre-bid conference in Lagos on January 14, 2026, to explain the requirements, evaluation procedure and timetable to prospective investors.
Registration and submission of prequalification applications closed on February 27, while the commission completed the prequalification process and notified successful applicants on March 16.
The technical and commercial phase commenced on March 17, with participating companies required to purchase and evaluate relevant geological data before submitting their technical and financial proposals.
Under the evaluation framework, successful bidders will not be selected solely based on the highest financial offer.
The NUPRC will determine winning bids through a weighted assessment of signature bonus commitments, proposed work programmes, performance security, technical capability, financial strength and the capacity of each investor to commence exploration and move the assets towards production.
The framework is intended to prevent the award of petroleum assets to companies that lack the financial or technical capacity to develop them.
It also reflects the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act requiring licence holders to commence approved work programmes or relinquish undeveloped assets under the “drill or drop” principle.
The commission said the process was designed to promote transparency, competition and the allocation of petroleum assets to investors capable of accelerating exploration and production.
The NUPRC is expected to notify winning and reserve bidders after completing the commercial evaluation, while the 13 blocks that failed to attract bids will be returned to the government’s licensing basket for possible consideration in a future exercise.
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