143 firms submit commercial bids for 50 oil, gas blocs

No fewer than 143 indigenous and international oil and gas companies will today (Tuesday) compete for 50 oil and gas blocs as the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) commences the commercial bid phase of the 2025 Licensing Round in Abuja.

The commercial bid conference marks the final stage of the licensing exercise and is expected to determine the successful bidders for exploration and production assets spread across seven hydrocarbon provinces.

The blocks include 16 Niger Delta onshore blocks, 18 Niger Delta shallow water blocks, one Niger Delta deep offshore block, three Benin Basin onshore blocs, four Anambra Basin onshore blocks, four Chad Basin onshore blocks and four Benue Trough blocks.

NUPRC said only firms that successfully passed the prequalification and technical bid stages were invited to participate in the commercial bid conference.

In a statement, the Commission’s Head of Media and Corporate Communications, Eniola Akinkuotu, said the exercise was being conducted in line with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.

He said attendance at the conference, holding at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja, was strictly by invitation.

According to Akinkuotu, the winning bidders will emerge through a weighted assessment of key commercial parameters, including signature bonus, work programme commitments and performance security.

He said the combined technical and commercial scores would determine the successful applicants.

The commission recalled that the 2025 Licensing Round was launched on November 11, 2025, while the registration portal opened on December 1, 2025.

It added that a pre-bid conference held in Lagos on January 14, 2026, provided prospective investors with details of the licensing guidelines and bidding process.

According to the commission, prequalification submissions closed on February 27, 2026, while evaluations were completed on March 16, 2026.

NUPRC disclosed that 286 companies initially applied for prequalification, with 196 meeting the requirements to advance to the technical and commercial bid stages.

Of those, 143 companies submitted a total of 200 commercial bids and will participate in the final bidding process.

The commission said the outcome of the exercise is expected to boost investment in Nigeria’s upstream petroleum sector, increase hydrocarbon reserves and support higher crude oil production under the reforms introduced by the Petroleum Industry Act.