The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission has launched the 2025 licensing round by opening 50 oil and gas blocks across five sedimentary basins for bidding and exploration.

The commission has warned that only technically competent and financially strong firms will be permitted to advance in the process.

The exercise aims to eliminate speculative participation and reposition Nigeria’s upstream sector as a transparent, rules-based destination for long-term investment.

NUPRC Chief Executive Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan announced this during the 2025 licensing round pre-bid webinar on Wednesday, where the regulator detailed the framework, evaluation criteria, and commercial terms for the bid process.

Eyesan described the licensing round as a strategic intervention to grow reserves, improve production, and strengthen Nigeria’s energy security amid a changing global energy landscape.

“This upstream sector is serious business. It is for long-term investment, and it is an open invitation to partnership, transparency, and shared responsibility as we work together to shape the next phase of Nigeria’s upstream oil and gas industry,” she said.

The commission has adopted a strictly merit-based approach, with technical competence and financial capacity central to the selection.

“Only candidates with strong technical and financial credentials, professionalism, and credible plans will move forward. Winners will be chosen through a transparent, merit-based process that takes you from award to exploration, appraisal, and ultimately full production,” Eyesan stated.

The 50 blocks on offer span five of Nigeria’s seven sedimentary basins, providing access to both frontier and mature areas.

“In this licensing round, 50 oil and gas blocks across Nigeria are available, allowing investors to access the country’s key basins and create long-term value,” she said.

With President Bola Tinubu’s approval, the NUPRC reviewed the commercial structure to lower entry barriers while deterring unserious bidders.

Signature bonuses for the 2025 round are set between $3 million and $7 million, with greater focus on work programmes and speed to production.

The new structure emphasises technical capability, credible work programmes, and rapid production over high cash bids, as Nigeria vies for global capital amid energy security concerns.

“With the approval of His Excellency, President Bola Tinubu, signature bonuses for the 2025 licensing round are now set within a value range of $3m–$7m that reduces entry barriers and places greater weight on what truly matters, technical capability, credible work programmes, financial strength, and the ability to deliver production within the shortest possible time,” she said.

This adjustment responds to global capital mobility and aims to make Nigeria more competitive for serious, long-term investors.

“This has been done deliberately to increase competitiveness and in response to capital mobility. The upstream sector is serious business. It is for long-term investment, and it is an open invitation to partnership, transparency, and shared responsibility,” Eyesan stated.

The licensing round follows a five-stage process: registration and pre-qualification, data acquisition, technical bid submission, evaluation, and commercial bid conference.

The process will strictly comply with the Petroleum Industry Act 2021, using digital tools for transparency and accountability.

“Let me emphasise clearly that the bid process will comply with the Petroleum Industry Act, promote the use of digital tools for smooth data access and remain open to public and institutional scrutiny through NEITI and other oversight agencies,” Eyesan said.

All licensing materials were uploaded to the commission’s portal on December 1, 2025, with support channels available for investor queries.

Eyesan reaffirmed full compliance with the PIA 2021 and extensive digital tool use for transparency.

“The bid process will comply strictly with the PIA, promote the use of digital tools for smooth data access, and remain open to public, international, and institutional scrutiny through NEITI and other oversight agencies,” she said.

The 2025 licensing round signals to global investors that Nigeria’s upstream sector has been re-engineered for long-term value creation.

“Let me emphasise clearly that the Nigeria 2025 Licensing Round is not merely a bidding exercise. It is a clear signal of a re-imagined upstream sector, anchored on the rule of law, driven by data, aligned with global investment realities, and focused on long-term value creation,” Eyesan said.

In a technical presentation, NUPRC Director of Lease Administration, Exploration and Acreage Management Amber Ndoma-Egba said the round covers the Chad Basin, Benue Trough, Anambra Basin, Bida Basin, and Niger Delta Basin.

Technical evaluation will prioritise subsurface understanding, exploration work programmes, development concepts, sustainability, host community plans, and lifecycle management.

“We look at your understanding of the block, your subsurface evaluation, your exploration work programme, your development and production concept, sustainability, decarbonisation objectives, and host community development. Technically weak firms will not scale through this process.

“We have seven sedimentary basins in Nigeria. We have the Sokoto Basin, the Chad Basin. We have the Benin trough, Bida Basin, Anambra Basin, Benin Basin, and, of course, the mature Niger Delta Basin. This licensing round will take place across five of the seven sedimentary basins,” Ndoma-Egba said.

On commercial terms, the commission approved a minimum work performance security of one per cent, with bidders able to increase it voluntarily for a higher technical score.

“The Commission Chief Executive, in the spirit of enablement and support for investment, has approved that the minimum work performance security should be one per cent. However, bidders may boost this if they want a higher weighting in their score,” he said.

Bidders must detail exploration plans within the initial period: three years for onshore assets and five years for deepwater and frontier blocks.

“We look at your understanding of the block, your subsurface evaluation, your exploration work programme, your development and production concept, evacuation and facilities planning, sustainability, decarbonisation objectives, and host community development,” he said.

Final winners will be selected based on a weighted combination of technical and commercial scores, per the Petroleum Industry Act.

The NUPRC officially commenced the 2025 licensing round on December 1, 2025, targeting about $10 billion in new investments.