Energy
NUPRC Throws 50 Oil Blocks up for Bidding
The 2025 licensing round has seen the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC ), throw up 50 oil and gas blocks across five sedimentary basins for bidding and exploration.
Biztellers reports that the NUPRC cautioned that only technically competent and financially strong firms will be allowed to scale through the process.
The commission said the exercise is designed to eliminate speculative participation and reposition Nigeria’s upstream sector as a transparent, rules-based destination for long-term investment.
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The Chief Executive of the NUPRC, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, made this known on Wednesday during the 2025 licensing round pre-bid webinar, where the regulator outlined the framework, evaluation criteria, and commercial terms guiding the bid process.
Eyesan said the licensing round should be viewed as a strategic intervention to grow reserves, improve production, and strengthen Nigeria’s energy security in a rapidly evolving global energy landscape.
“This upstream sector is serious business. It is for long-term investment, and it is an open invitation to partnership, transparency, and shared responsibility as we work together to shape the next phase of Nigeria’s upstream oil and gas industry,” she said.
According to her, the commission has adopted a strictly merit-based approach that places technical competence and financial capacity at the centre of the selection 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.
She disclosed that the 50 oil and gas blocks on offer are spread across five of Nigeria’s seven sedimentary basins, giving investors access to both frontier and mature terrains.
“In this licensing round, 50 oil and gas blocks across Nigeria are available, allowing investors to access the country’s key basins and create long-term value,” she said.
Eyesan added that, with the approval of President Bola Tinubu, the Commission had reviewed the commercial structure of the bid round to lower entry barriers while discouraging unserious bidders.
She revealed that signature bonuses for the 2025 licensing round have been set within a $3m–$7m range, with greater emphasis placed on work programmes and speed to production.
The CCE said the new structure places greater emphasis on technical capability, credible work programmes, and speed to production, rather than aggressive cash bids, as Nigeria competes for mobile global capital amid tightening energy security and supply.
“With the approval of His Excellency, President Bola Tinubu, signature bonuses for the 2025 licensing round are now set within a value range of $3m–$7m that reduces entry barriers and places greater weight on what truly matters, technical capability, credible work programmes, financial strength, and the ability to deliver production within the shortest possible time,” she said.
According to her, the decision was informed by global capital mobility and the need to make Nigeria competitive in attracting serious, long-term upstream investors.
“This has been done deliberately to increase competitiveness and in response to capital mobility. The upstream sector is serious business. It is for long-term investment, and it is an open invitation to partnership, transparency, and shared responsibility,” Eyesan stated.
The NUPRC boss said the licensing round follows a five-stage process comprising registration and pre-qualification, data acquisition, technical bid submission, evaluation, and a commercial bid conference.
She stressed that the entire exercise would comply strictly with the Petroleum Industry Act 2021, with digital tools deployed to ensure transparency and public accountability.
“Let me emphasise clearly that the bid process will comply with the Petroleum Industry Act, promote the use of digital tools for smooth data access and remain open to public and institutional scrutiny through NEITI and other oversight agencies,” Eyesan said.
She added that all licensing materials had been uploaded on the commission’s portal since December 1, 2025, with dedicated support channels created to respond promptly to investor enquiries.
Eyesan reaffirmed that the entire process would comply fully with the PIA 2021, with extensive use of digital tools to ensure transparency and public scrutiny.
“The bid process will comply strictly with the PIA, promote the use of digital tools for smooth data access, and remain open to public, international, and institutional scrutiny through NEITI and other oversight agencies,” she said.
The NUPRC boss concluded that the 2025 licensing round represents a strategic signal to global investors that Nigeria’s upstream sector has been re-engineered for long-term value creation.
“Let me emphasise clearly that the Nigeria 2025 Licensing Round is not merely a bidding exercise. It is a clear signal of a re-imagined upstream sector, anchored on the rule of law, driven by data, aligned with global investment realities, and focused on long-term value creation,” Eyesan said.
In a technical presentation to participants, the Director of Lease Administration, Exploration and Acreage Management at NUPRC, Amber Ndoma-Egba, said the 2025 licensing round cuts across the Chad Basin, Benue Trough, Anambra Basin, Bida Basin, and the Niger Delta Basin.
He explained that the technical evaluation would focus on subsurface understanding, exploration work programmes, development concepts, sustainability, host community plans, and lifecycle management.
“We look at your understanding of the block, your subsurface evaluation, your exploration work programme, your development and production concept, sustainability, decarbonisation objectives, and host community development. Technically weak firms will not scale through this process.
“We have seven sedimentary basins in Nigeria. We have the Sokoto Basin, the Chad Basin. We have the Benin trough, Bida Basin, Anambra Basin, 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 said.
On commercial terms, Ndoma-Egba disclosed that the Commission, in a bid to support investment, had approved a minimum work performance security of one per cent, although bidders could voluntarily increase it to improve their technical score.
“The Commission Chief Executive, in the spirit of enablement and support for investment, has approved that the minimum work performance security should be one per cent. However, bidders may boost this if they want a higher weighting in their score,” he said.
He said bidders must clearly outline their exploration plans within the initial exploration period, three years for onshore assets and five years for deepwater and frontier blocks.
“We look at your understanding of the block, your subsurface evaluation, your exploration work programme, your development and production concept, evacuation and facilities planning, sustainability, decarbonisation objectives, and host community development
He also confirmed that final winners would emerge based on a weighted combination of technical and commercial scores, in line with the Petroleum Industry Act.
On December 1, 2025, the NUPRC announced the official commencement of the 2025 petroleum licensing round, targeting about $10 billion in new investments.
OPEC oil output in May hit its lowest in more than two decades, a Reuters survey found, as a U.S. naval blockade cut Iran’s exports and Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz slashed exports by other Gulf producers.
Output by the 11-member Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries fell by 1.06 million barrels per day month-on-month to 16.13 million bpd, the survey found.
That was the lowest monthly figure since at least 2000, according to Reuters surveys, and well below the levels seen during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 when demand collapsed.
The figures exclude the United Arab Emirates which quit OPEC as of May 1.
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Saudi Arabia had a further decline, although Iraq was able to increase supply due to increased domestic use, sources in the survey said.
Venezuela and Nigeria also pumped more.
Eight members of the OPEC+ producer group, which includes OPEC plus allies including Russia, had agreed to raise production in May, but the Iran war and U.S. blockade made that impossible.
The Reuters survey is based on flow data from financial group LSEG, information from other companies that track flows, such as Kpler, and information provided by sources at oil companies, OPEC and consultants.
Credit – Times of India
Shell Nigeria Gas (SNG) shared its experiences in pioneering gas distribution nearly 30 years ago, and identified the expansion of pipeline natural gas infrastructure and the market‑making role of gas distributors as critical in moving gas from a policy aspiration to a practical energy solution for Nigerian industries.
“When SNG started in Agbara–Ota over 20 years ago, demand was nowhere near what it is today,” recalled Managing Director Ralph Gbobo at a panel session on “Building a Bankable Gas Distribution Ecosystem: Infrastructure, Capital and Market Demand” at the 2nd business forum of the Association of Local Distributors of Gas (ALDG) in Abuja late last week.
Represented by Head, Gas Distribution, Chukwuka Amos-Ejesi, Raph said: “The economics was not perfect, but there was a leap of faith anchored on Nigeria’s industrialisation trajectory. That decision has proven right.”
He said SNG’s persistence proved that when demand ambition, supply certainty, enabling infrastructure, and commercial clarity come together, even if not perfectly at the start, it creates industrial clusters that can grow and attract long-term capital. “Sustainability and bankability emerge over time, as utilization deepens and confidence builds,” he pointed out.
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The theme of the forum was “From Gas Abundance to Gas Access: Reassessing Nigeria’s Gas Distribution Imperatives,” with industry leaders and other stakeholders discussing the use of gas to drive industrialisation. The panel session agreed on the need for “clear, supportive and credible policy frameworks, especially measures designed to improve the use of gas.
Ralph noted: “The introduction of gas-focused policies, notably the Petroleum Industry Act, marked a turning point. By reinforcing the role of gas in Nigeria’s energy and industrial strategy and embedding instruments such as the Network Code- a critical framework that governs the operations of the Domestic Gas market and ensures transparency and stability, and the Domestic Gas Supply Obligation which compels gas producers to allocate gas to the domestic market, the PIA significantly reduced policy ambiguity around gas development.”
He added: “The introduction of clearer pricing frameworks for gas supply and transportation and a more transparent and competitive licensing regime, has also strengthened market confidence. Together, these measures have improved producer confidence, particularly for domestic gas projects, and signaled the government’s strong commitment to gas as a driver of industrial development.”
Incorporated in 1998 as a fully Shell-owned gas distribution company, SNG currently serves over 150 clients in Abia, Bayelsa, Ogun and Rivers states, partnering with governments and other stakeholders to take the cleaner and more affordable energy to the doorsteps of industries. In the first half of this year alone, the company has connected two additional companies in Ogun State to its gas distribution network.
Photo Caption – L–R: Chairman, Association of Local Distributors of Gas (ALDG), and Managing Director, Axxela Gas Distribution, Kehinde Alabi; and Head of Gas Distribution, Shell Nigeria Gas, Chukwuka Amos-Ejesi, receiving a commendation plaque on behalf of SNG Managing Director, Ralph Gbobo, in recognition of his professional and diligent service on the Governing Board of the Association, at the Association of Local Distributors of Gas (ALDG) Business Forum in Abuja
In what is expected to provide investors and industry stakeholders with a detailed overview of Nigeria’s energy assets and opportunities, her first comprehensive Gas and Power Infrastructure Map will be unveiled at the 25th edition of NOG Energy Week.
It was gathered that the publication, developed by the Gas for Africa programme in partnership with NNPC Limited, will be launched during the annual energy conference in Abuja and is being positioned as a major step towards improving transparency and investment decision-making in Nigeria’s gas and power sectors.
Industry stakeholders have long cited the lack of consolidated and reliable infrastructure data as a major challenge to attracting investment into the sector. The new map seeks to address that gap by providing a single source of information on Nigeria’s gas and power infrastructure, including pipelines, gas processing facilities, power generation assets, LNG terminals and key transmission networks.
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Alongside the infrastructure map, organisers will also release a comprehensive report on Nigeria’s gas sector, which they describe as the most extensive industry intelligence publication ever produced on the country’s gas value chain.
The report examines developments in the sector since 2020 and covers key areas such as the NNPC Gas Master Plan 2026, gas reserves and production trends, pipeline infrastructure, capacity challenges, compressed natural gas (CNG), piped natural gas (PNG), liquefied natural gas (LNG) markets, gas-to-power projects and gas-based industrialisation.
According to the organisers, the publication provides an end-to-end assessment of Nigeria’s gas industry and offers critical insights for investors, policymakers and industry operators.
The launch comes at a time when global energy markets are undergoing significant shifts, driven by geopolitical tensions and increasing demand for alternative and secure energy supplies.
Organisers noted that Nigeria is strengthening its position as a major energy player, supported by rising crude oil production, implementation of a new Gas Master Plan and expanding refining capacity.
They said the infrastructure map and accompanying report are expected to help convert investor interest into concrete projects by providing accurate data on existing assets, infrastructure gaps and future opportunities across the sector.
Attendees at NOG Energy Week will be the first to access both publications as government officials, energy executives, investors and industry leaders gather in Abuja for the five-day event.
The conference is also expected to feature investment discussions, joint venture announcements, memorandum of understanding signings and project partnerships aimed at advancing Nigeria’s energy development agenda.
With preparations gathering momentum ahead of the event, organisers said NOG Energy Week 2026 will provide a platform for stakeholders to examine the future of Nigeria’s energy sector and its role in Africa’s broader energy transition and industrial growth.
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