…Says No Room For Speculative Oil Block Holders
…New Oil Blocks To Add Over 500 Million Barrels To Reserves
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has warned successful bidders in the 2025 Licensing Round that they will have only 90 days to fulfil all post-award conditions or risk forfeiting their allocated oil and gas assets.
The Commission also declared that there would be no room for speculative holders of petroleum acreage, insisting that only investors with the financial capacity and technical competence to develop the assets would retain their licences.
The warning was issued on Monday by the Commission Chief Executive, Mrs Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, during her opening remarks at the Commercial Bid Conference for the Nigeria 2025 Licensing Round in Abuja.
Eyesan said the announcement of successful bidders at the commercial bid conference did not amount to the automatic grant of Petroleum Prospecting Licences (PPLs), stressing that winners must still satisfy all statutory requirements before licences would be issued.
According to her, “Successful bidders should also note that today’s announcement does not, by itself, constitute the final grant of a Petroleum Prospecting Licence.
“Each winning bidder must satisfy the post-bid conditions prescribed in the Guidelines, including the provision of the applicable guarantees, payment of the signature bonus and first-year rent, and execution of the relevant contractual documents.”
She added that any successful bidder that failed to meet the stipulated conditions within the prescribed period would lose the award.
“A winning bidder that fails to fulfil the prescribed conditions within 90 days of receiving its offer letter will lose its entitlement to the asset. The Commission may thereafter invite the reserve bidders, in their order of ranking, to fulfil the conditions of the award,” she said.
Eyesan stressed that the Federal Government was determined to ensure that awarded assets are developed quickly to boost crude oil production, expand reserves and improve government revenues.
“The Government is not seeking speculative holders of acreage; it is seeking partners with the capacity, discipline and commitment to deliver measurable production and economic value,” she stated.
She further warned that successful companies must move beyond acquiring assets on paper by committing resources to exploration and field development.
“To the bidders who will emerge successful today, an award is not a trophy to be held. It is an obligation to invest, drill, develop and produce. Our message is therefore clear: drill or drop. Work programmes must be implemented, financial commitments must be honoured and agreed milestones must be achieved,” Eyesan said.
The Commission Chief Executive assured investors that the regulator would provide a stable and predictable operating environment to facilitate project execution, but insisted that operators must also deliver on their commitments.
“The Commission will support credible operators through clear guidance, predictable regulatory decisions and timely intervention where genuine obstacles arise. In return, we expect performance. Acreage cannot remain inactive while Nigeria’s production, revenue and energy-security objectives are deferred,” she added.
She explained that the true measure of the licensing round would not be the number of successful bidders announced but how quickly the awarded assets progress from exploration to commercial production.
“The true measure of the success of this Licensing Round will not be the number of winning bidders announced today. It will be the speed with which the awards move from paper to seismic acquisition, from seismic to drilling, from drilling to development and, ultimately, from development to production,” she said.
Providing an overview of the licensing exercise, Eyesan disclosed that the process attracted interest from about 300 companies for the 50 oil and gas assets offered by the Commission.
She said 196 companies successfully passed the prequalification stage, while 143 firms eventually submitted 200 technical and commercial bids covering 37 assets.
According to her, the level of participation reflected growing investor confidence in Nigeria’s upstream petroleum sector and the reforms introduced by the Federal Government.
She noted that both new entrants and established indigenous and international operators participated in the process, describing it as evidence that Nigeria remains an attractive investment destination.
Eyesan said the licensing round was conducted transparently in line with President Bola Tinubu’s directive that the process should meet international best practices.
She added that the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) monitored key stages of the exercise to strengthen transparency and public confidence.
The Commission Chief Executive also disclosed that the assets on offer have the potential to add about 500 million barrels to Nigeria’s crude oil and condensate reserves, which currently stand at 37.01 billion barrels, while also boosting the country’s gas reserves estimated at 215.19 trillion cubic feet.
She projected that once fully developed, the fields could contribute at least 300,000 barrels of crude oil and condensate per day over the next three years, supporting the Federal Government’s target of increasing national oil production to three million barrels per day by 2030.
According to her, beyond increasing crude output, the development of the assets would generate higher government revenue, improve foreign exchange earnings, create jobs, deepen local content, encourage technology transfer and stimulate broader economic growth.
Eyesan also assured unsuccessful participants that additional opportunities would soon become available, revealing that President Tinubu had already approved the commencement of the 2026 licensing round.
She reiterated the Commission’s commitment to conducting regular, transparent and competitive licensing rounds aimed at sustaining exploration activities, replenishing reserves and strengthening investor confidence in Nigeria’s upstream oil and gas industry.
ENDS
