The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has warned successful bidders in the 2025 Licensing Round that they have 90 days to meet all post-award conditions or forfeit their allocated oil and gas blocs.
The Commission also declared that speculative ownership of petroleum assets would no longer be tolerated, insisting that only investors with the financial and technical capacity to develop the blocs would retain their licences.
Speaking at the Commercial Bid Conference for the 2025 Licensing Round in Abuja on Monday, the Commission Chief Executive, Mrs. Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, said the announcement of winning bidders did not automatically confer Petroleum Prospecting Licences (PPLs).
She explained that successful bidders must fulfil statutory obligations, including payment of signature bonuses and first-year rents, provision of required guarantees and execution of relevant contractual documents before licences would be issued.
According to her, any bidder that fails to satisfy the conditions within 90 days of receiving an offer letter would lose the allocation, while the Commission reserves the right to invite reserve bidders based on their ranking.
Eyesan said the Federal Government was determined to ensure that awarded assets are developed promptly to increase crude oil production, expand reserves and boost government revenue.
“The Government is not seeking speculative holders of acreage; it is seeking partners with the capacity, discipline and commitment to deliver measurable production and economic value,” she said.
She urged successful companies to move beyond acquiring licences and invest in exploration, drilling and field development.
“An award is not a trophy to be held. It is an obligation to invest, drill, develop and produce. Our message is clear: drill or drop,” she said.
Eyesan assured operators of a stable and predictable regulatory environment but stressed that acreage must not remain idle while the country pursues higher production and energy security goals.
She said the success of the licensing round would be measured by how quickly awarded assets progress from exploration to commercial production rather than by the number of licences awarded.
The NUPRC boss disclosed that nearly 300 companies expressed interest in the exercise, with 196 firms prequalified and 143 companies submitting 200 technical and commercial bids covering 37 assets.
She attributed the strong participation to growing investor confidence in Nigeria’s upstream petroleum sector and reforms introduced under the Petroleum Industry Act.
Eyesan added that the licensing process was conducted transparently in line with President Bola Tinubu’s directive, with the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative monitoring key stages of the exercise.
According to her, the assets on offer could add more than 500 million barrels to Nigeria’s crude oil and condensate reserves, currently estimated at 37.01 billion barrels, while also strengthening the country’s gas reserves of 215.19 trillion cubic feet.
She projected that the assets could deliver at least 300,000 barrels of crude oil and condensate per day within the next three years, supporting the Federal Government’s target of increasing national oil production to three million barrels per day by 2030.
Eyesan said the development of the blocs would also boost government revenue, increase foreign exchange earnings, create jobs, deepen local content and stimulate economic growth.
She further disclosed that President Tinubu had approved the commencement of the 2026 licensing round, assuring unsuccessful bidders that additional investment opportunities would soon be available.
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