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By Adewale Sanyaolu
The federal government has warned investors against requests for asset substitution as it progresses with the 2025 oil licensing round.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr. Heineken Lokpobiri, handed down the warning at the 2025 Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) pre-bid conference held in Lagos with 50 oil and gas blocks on offer.
The conference, which attracted both local and foreign stakeholders, was aimed at educating prospective bidders on available assets, the legal framework, and the risks involved in the licensing process.
“I’ve had obligations to solve so many problems following the 2020 bid round. The government received several representations from people who won those bids”.
The minister also recounted how some bidders complained that the assets awarded to them did not meet their expectations and demanded alternative acreages.
“A few of these bidders have also come to say they should be given other acreages and that the one they bid for was not good enough, ‘so give us another one’. I want to state very clearly that the PIA does not provide for asset exchanges or refunds on these grounds,” Lokpobiri said.
According to him, once a bid is completed and an award is made in line with the law, the technical and commercial risks rest entirely with the bidder.
Lokpobiri, said the bidding process had a robust framework that showed a commitment to transparency and accountability in Nigeria’s upstream sector.
“The licensing round presents a clear opportunity for investors and operators to participate in Nigeria’s petroleum industry. Let me make it clear from the beginning that these assets should not be taken as mere status symbols for people to say, ‘I have a license.’”
He said most people had held assets for 20 years without developing them, adding, “We give you licensing to operate within a given time frame, and it doesn’t belong to you.”
Lokpobiri added, “Our approach today is firmly anchored on the PIA. So far, NUPRC has complied with the extant provisions of Section 73 of the PIA, which are conditions precedent for the granting of licenses,”.
Chairman, Senate Committee on Upstream, Senator Eteng Williams, during his goodwill message, said the commission had the backing of legislators in the licensing round process.
Williams said, “We have Project One Million Barrels, and we must achieve it. It is not the time to play games. We are ready, the federal government is ready. The future of Nigeria depends on what we are doing today,”.
Speaking on the theme, “Growing Upstream Investment in Nigeria Through Licensing Round: The Bid Process and the Opportunities,” Chief Executive Officer of NUPRC, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, explained that the commission had recorded significant progress over the last few years, largely due to the implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
“The commission has made a lot of strides in the last couple of years, and it has been enabled primarily by the PIA. today we are witnessing one of the benefits of the PIA. With the advent of the PIA, if you do not work your block, it will be taken from you, and many of the assets on offer today are recovered as fallow fields.
We need to appreciate the federal government and the founding fathers of the PIA for this great job that they have done for us.”
According to her, lessons from previous licensing rounds have informed the 2025 licensing round with a renewed focus on attracting capable investors in the 50 assets on offer.
Eyesan said, “One of the things that we have taken into cognisance is the feedback from the prior bidding process, and as the minister alluded to in his remark, we are looking for technically competent operators to work our assets,”.
