The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission has confirmed that the 2025 Oil Licensing Round is set to begin on December 1, 2025.

This was disclosed by the Commission’s Chief Executive, Engr. Gbenga Komolafe, during the Project 1MMBOPD Additional Production Investment Forum in London on Tuesday.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the NUPRC quoted Komolafe as stating, “We are announcing that we are ready under the approval of the Minister of Petroleum Resources in line with the PIA commence the 2025 licensing round beginning from December 1, 2025.”

The Commission stated that the new licensing round aims to unlock Nigeria’s undeveloped and dormant oil and gas fields, with a special focus on gas-rich assets that can advance the country’s energy transition objectives.

In December 2024, the Federal Government completed its first licensing round under the PIA 2021, awarding Petroleum Prospecting Licences to several indigenous oil and gas companies.

These licences grant the firms the right to explore and produce hydrocarbons from both onshore and offshore blocks.

Licensing rounds have long been a key component of Nigeria’s oil and gas investment strategy.

Major rounds were conducted in 2000, 2005, and 2007, while more targeted exercises for marginal fields and deepwater blocks followed in subsequent years.