The Federal Government, through the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, has launched the Nigeria 2025 Petroleum Licensing Round, an ambitious national plan expected to attract $10bn in new investments and unlock up to two billion barrels of crude oil reserves over the next decade. The bid round, officially unveiled in Abuja on Monday, marks a major step in Nigeria’s push to revive exploration activity, boost reserves, and expand long-term oil production capacity across multiple hydrocarbon basins.
Speaking at the launch, the Chief Executive of the NUPRC, Mr Gbenga Komolafe, said the new exercise covers 50 oil and gas blocks across different terrains, including onshore, shallow water, frontier, and deepwater areas. He noted that the round is designed to reverse years of declining exploration and reposition Nigeria as a competitive player in the global oil and gas market. According to him, detailed guidelines and the full bidding framework have been published on the commission’s portal, br2025.nuprc.gov.ng, in line with legal requirements.
Mr Komolafe explained that the 2025 licensing round will run for six months and will follow a two-stage process that focuses on credibility, fairness, and investor confidence. He said the structure is guided by Section 73 of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021, which mandates a transparent and competitive bidding system. With the approval of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, 50 blocks were listed for the exercise: 15 onshore blocks, 19 shallow-water blocks, 15 frontier blocks, and one deepwater asset.
He said projections showed that the awarded blocks could collectively deliver up to 400,000 barrels of oil per day once fully operational. Over the next ten years, the successful development of the assets is expected to add up to two billion barrels of oil output, helping Nigeria stabilise reserves and increase production levels. The commission also expects the exercise to attract about $10bn in fresh capital into the upstream sector.
According to the NUPRC boss, transparency remains a key pillar of the exercise. He said the 2025 round builds on the success of the 2024 licensing round, which introduced digital platforms, automated workflows, and better data access to make the bid process faster and more transparent. He added that all documents needed for the bid round, including activity schedules, asset teasers, maps, and guidelines, have been made publicly available on the licensing portal.
The process begins with a qualification stage where applicants must submit detailed documentation for evaluation. Only companies that meet the technical, financial, and professional standards set by the commission will move to the bid stage. At the bid stage, qualified applicants will sign confidentiality agreements and submit both technical and commercial proposals. Winners will emerge through the commercial bid process. Komolafe stressed that the age of a company or its incorporation date will not limit its chances. Instead, the commission will focus strictly on technical competence, financial capacity, and clear development plans.
He said, “Given our commitment to transparency and alignment with best practices, the bid process will be automated and digital. Winners will emerge at the commercial bid process.” He explained that many of the concerns raised in the past about inexperienced or newly registered companies winning oil blocks unnecessarily have been addressed. The commission has strengthened the guidelines to ensure only firms with real capacity win.
One of the new measures introduced is the Bid Guarantee Requirement, which compels bidders to provide financial guarantees. The aim is to prevent a situation where companies win blocks and fail to develop them. He said the rule ensures that if a winning bidder fails to move forward with development, the country will not lose.
Komolafe revealed that inflated signature bonus pledges are no longer a winning factor. According to him, President Bola Tinubu has reduced entry barriers to allow serious investors to participate and prevent speculative bidding. He also said the commission’s decision to embark on global roadshows, including those planned for Beijing, is backed by the Petroleum Industry Act. The goal is to attract investors with strong financial and technical capacity, especially as global competition for capital increases due to the energy transition.
He added that Nigeria’s 2024 licensing round was praised by the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative and was concluded without petitions or litigation, a development he described as evidence that credibility has been restored to the licensing process. He said rig count and field activities across the country show rising investor confidence, with more drilling projects now active.
Nigeria’s upstream sector has suffered from underinvestment in recent years, largely due to regulatory uncertainty, community disruptions, global capital movement away from fossil fuels, and pressure from energy transition policies. The Petroleum Industry Act, passed in 2021, aims to address these challenges by creating a transparent and competitive environment for investment. The 2025 licensing round, which offers 50 blocks across several terrains, is part of a wider government effort to rebuild investor trust, deepen indigenous participation, and reposition Nigeria as a top destination for upstream investments.
