2025 Licensing Round: NUPRC Reassures Transparency, Merit-based Selection of Bid Winners

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The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has reassured its commitment to transparency and adoption of merit-based procedures for the emergence of winners of oil and gas blocks in the ongoing 2025 licensing bid round.

This was part of the message from the Commission during the 2025 Licensing Round Pre-Bid Webinar held on Wednesday, January 28.

The Upstream oil and gas regulator unveiled guidelines for participation in the 2025 licensing bid round.

Speaking at the event, the Commission Chief Executive, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, said the overall goal of NUPRC in organising the licensing round is to attract investments in the nation’s oil and gas industry, grow reserves, and boost production in a responsible and sustainable manner.

“To achieve this objective, a structured transparent licensing round is essential,” Mrs Eyesan stated.

“Nigeria is ready to be the beautiful bride to capital and playroom for advanced technological deployment for hydrocarbon recovery.”

The NUPRC boss highlighted the five stages of the bidding process, which include: registration and pre-qualification, data acquisition, technical bid submission, evaluation, and a commercial bid conference. She emphasised that the guideline prioritizes candidates with strong technical and financial credentials in the bidding process.

“Only candidates with strong technical and financial credentials, professionalism, and credible plans will move forward. Winners will be chosen through a transparent, merit-based process that takes you from award to exploration, appraisal, and ultimately full production,” Eyesan stated.

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She noted that in line with President Bola Tinubu’s approval, the entry barrier has been lowered with the significant reduction of signature bonuses from about $10 million in the previous years to between $3 million and $7 million, depending on asset classification.

According to her, reducing the entry barrier reflects the new focus on not just financial strength but more on technical capacity and ability to deliver production within the shortest possible time.

The Commission stipulated in the guidelines that successful bidders must pay signature bonuses within 60 days of the issuance of the offer letter, and failure to comply could lead to losing the offer.

“This has been done to increase competitiveness and in response to capital mobility,” Eyesan clarified.

NUPRC chief executive said the offer would give investors access to the country’s key diverse hydrocarbon basins and create long-term value.

She reiterated that the bid process will adhere strictly with provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), and encourage the use of digital tools for smooth data access and transparency.

Various experts from the NUPRC took turns to highlight critical issues about the bid process to clear uncertainties that investors may be having.

In his presentation, the Deputy Director, Lease Administration, Exploration and Acreage Management, Dr Amba Ndoma-Egba, stated that the licensing round will take place in five out of the seven sedimentary basins that Nigeria has.

“We have seven sedimentary basins in Nigeria. The Sokoto Basin, the Chad Basin, the Benin trough, the Bida Basin, the Anambra Basin, the Benin Basin, and, of course, the mature Niger Delta Basin. This licensing round will take place across five of the seven sedimentary basins,” Ndoma-Egba clarified.

He emphasised that the Commission considers the licence bidder’s level of understanding of the block, subsurface evaluation, exploration work programme, production concept, evacuation and facilities planning.

Other things, according to him, include sustainability, decarbonisation objectives, and plans for host community development.

He also echoed that final winners would emerge based on a weighted combination of technical and commercial scores, in line with the Petroleum Industry Act.

Also speaking at the event, Head of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Centre (ADRC) of the NUPRC, Mr. Augustine Okwah, stated that bidders are entitled to only two oil and gas blocks, stressing that anything above that will not be considered by the commission.

Okwah stated that bidders would be required to submit a performance bond that will guarantee work obligation.

He stressed that the requirement for payment of the signature bonus within 60 days from the date of issuance of the offer letter is also part of the process for guaranteeing the investor’s commitment to work.

“If the winning bidder is unable to fulfil this condition precedent within these 90 days, upon the expiration of the 90 days, without recourse to the winning bidder, the commission will then invite the reserve bidder to fulfil these conditions and it means the offer made to the winning bidder lapses,” he stated.

Pinnacle Daily had reported that the Commission said it is offering 50 oil and gas blocks across shallow offshore, deepwater and onshore terrains in Nigeria.

It would be recalled that NUPRC launched the 2025 Licensing Bid Round on December 1, 2025.

The Commission set a target of attracting over $10 billion investments in the oil and gas sector and adding additional two million barrels of oil production.

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Victor EZEJA

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Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist, scholar and analyst of socioeconomic issues in Nigeria and Africa. He is skilled in energy reporting, business and economy, and holds a master's degree in mass communication.