The Federal Government has announced that 13 oil and gas blocks offered during the 2025 Licensing Round will be returned to the national licensing pool after they failed to attract bids from investors.
The announcement was made on Tuesday in Abuja by the Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, during the 2025 Commercial Bid Conference.
According to Eyesan, the government placed 50 oil and gas blocks on offer across different sedimentary basins, but investor interest was recorded for only 37 blocks.
“At the end of the exercise, we had 50 blocks on offer, but representations were received for only 37 of them. The remaining 13 blocks will be returned to the licensing basket,” she said.
Despite the 13 unbid assets, Eyesan described the licensing round as a success, noting that the exercise attracted strong participation from local and international investors.
She disclosed that 143 companies took part in the commercial bidding process, submitting approximately 200 bids for the available oil and gas blocks.
According to her, the process initially drew expressions of interest from nearly 300 companies, highlighting growing confidence in Nigeria’s upstream petroleum sector.
“From the almost 300 expressions of interest we received, the prequalification process narrowed the number to 196 companies. Eventually, 143 companies participated in the commercial bidding exercise, submitting about 200 bids,” Eyesan stated.
The 2025 Licensing Round, which was announced in November 2025 under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, offered 50 oil and gas blocks spread across seven sedimentary basins in Nigeria.
The available assets included:
- 16 onshore blocks in the Niger Delta
- 18 shallow water blocks
- One deep offshore block
- Three blocks in the Benin Basin
- Four blocks in the Anambra Basin
- Four blocks in the Chad Basin
- Four blocks in the Benue Trough
The licensing process began with the opening of the application portal in December 2025, followed by a pre-bid conference in Lagos in January 2026. Registration and prequalification ended in February, while technical and commercial evaluations were completed in March.
Under the licensing framework, successful bidders are selected through a comprehensive assessment that considers their signature bonus commitments, proposed work programmes, technical expertise, financial capacity, and performance guarantees. The process is designed to ensure that oil and gas assets are awarded to investors capable of increasing exploration and boosting production in Nigeria.
The Federal Government hopes the successful licensing exercise will attract more investment into the country’s oil and gas industry while supporting efforts to improve energy production and economic growth.
