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From Adanna Nnamani, Abuja
The Federal Government has opened the 2026 Nigerian Licensing Round, offering 40 oil blocks across land, shallow water and deepwater terrains to local and international investors.
The Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, announced the licensing round yesterday in Abuja during activities marking the fifth anniversary of the Commission’s establishment under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.
Eyesan said the exercise followed approvals by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Minister of Petroleum Resources, adding that the blocks were open to investors with the required technical competence, financial capacity and commitment to developing Nigeria’s petroleum resources.
“The wait is over. It is with great joy that I announce that pursuant to the approval of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Honourable Minister of Petroleum Resources, the Nigerian 2026 Licensing Round is hereby announced,” she said.
She said the increasing competition for upstream capital globally made it necessary for Nigeria to provide clear rules, predictable processes and reliable data to attract investors.
According to her, the 40 blocks span land, shallow water and deepwater terrains, with both Nigerian and international investors expected to participate in the exercise.
The announcement followed the conclusion of the 2025 licensing round, in which 143 companies submitted 200 bids, with 31 companies emerging winners of 37 blocks.
Eyesan said the previous exercise also demonstrated growing investor interest in frontier basins outside the traditional Niger Delta producing areas, including the Anambra Basin, Benue Trough, Chad Basin and Benin Basin.
She noted that the NUPRC had conducted three licensing exercises since the PIA came into force in 2021 – the 2022 Deep Offshore Mini Bid Round, the 2024 Nigerian Licensing Round and the 2025 Nigerian Licensing Round.
According to her, the exercises resulted in the award of 57 Petroleum Prospecting Licences.
Eyesan said the 2026 exercise would introduce stronger transparency and predictability measures, including the disclosure of the beneficial owners of every bidder.
She added that the evaluation methodology and results would also be published more fully.
The NUPRC boss said the measures followed recommendations by the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) after its review of the 2022 to 2024 licensing rounds.
She said while NEITI found the previous processes to be generally professional, transparent and inclusive, it identified areas requiring improvement, including evaluation methodology, disclosure of results, public access to bidding information and beneficial ownership disclosure.
Eyesan said the Commission had accepted the recommendations and would implement them in the 2026 licensing round.
She also assured prospective investors that the bidding timetable would be published at the outset and adhered to, stressing that certainty over dates was critical to investment decisions.
She said investors needed sufficient time to secure board approvals, mobilise funds and prepare their bids.
The Commission, she added, would engage prospective bidders through its licensing website and portal, virtual data room, webinars and a dedicated help desk.
Eyesan said all material clarifications would be communicated to every participant to ensure that no bidder received an unfair advantage.
She said the latest licensing round was part of efforts to increase crude oil and condensate production and expand Nigeria’s gas reserves.
The NUPRC chief executive disclosed that assets offered in previous licensing exercises, subject to successful development, were expected to add about 500 million barrels to reserves and at least 300,000 barrels per day of crude oil and condensate production within five years.
She said the expected additions would support Nigeria’s target of producing three million barrels of oil per day by 2030.
The assets were also expected to contribute about 20 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves and 50 million standard cubic feet of gas per day in production, supporting the Federal Government’s Decade of Gas initiative.
Eyesan, however, warned successful bidders that securing an oil licence would come with an obligation to develop the assets.
“To those who will win, my message remains the same: Drill or Drop. A licence is a commitment to Nigeria, not a trophy on the wall,” she said.
She said full details of the blocks, qualification requirements and participation procedures would be published on the Commission’s website and dedicated licensing portal.
Eyesan said the NUPRC was determined to make Nigeria a more competitive destination for upstream investment by ensuring consistent award processes and providing investors with comprehensive, current and investment-ready technical data.She added that the 2026 licensing guidelines would clearly set out eligibility criteria, bid parameters, evaluation criteria and conditions of award.
According to her, the rules would be applied consistently to ensure that eligible Nigerian and international investors compete on a level playing field.
