Key points
- Federal Government will return 13 oil and gas blocks in the 2025 Licensing Round to the bid basket.
- NUPRC says successful bidders must begin development or risk losing assets under the “drill or drop” policy.
- The 2025 round attracted 286 prequalification applications, with 143 companies submitting 200 bids for 37 assets.
- President Bola Tinubu has approved the commencement of the 2026 Licensing Round.
Main story
The Federal Government has announced that 13 oil and gas blocks in the ongoing 2025 Licensing Round will be returned to the bid basket for future licensing exercises, while successful bidders will be required to commence development promptly or forfeit the assets under its “drill or drop” policy.
The Commission Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Mrs Onitsemeyiwa Eyesan, disclosed this on Tuesday during the Commercial Bid Conference for the Nigeria 2025 Licensing Round in Abuja.
Eyesan said the licensing round attracted nearly 300 expressions of interest, with 286 companies applying for prequalification. Of the total, 196 companies were prequalified, while 143 firms eventually submitted 200 technical and commercial bids covering 37 oil and gas assets.
She said 13 blocks had been withdrawn from the current exercise and would be returned to the bid basket for future licensing rounds.
According to her, the commercial bid opening is intended to identify credible operators with the technical and financial capacity to develop the assets, rather than simply selecting the highest bidders.
Eyesan said successful bidders would be required to satisfy all post-award conditions within 90 days, warning that failure to do so would invalidate the award.
She added that assets left undeveloped would be withdrawn in line with the commission’s “drill or drop” policy, aimed at ensuring timely resource development.
The NUPRC chief also announced that President Bola Tinubu had approved the commencement of the 2026 Licensing Round, encouraging unsuccessful bidders in the current exercise to participate.
She said the licensing programme formed part of the Federal Government’s strategy to attract investment into Nigeria’s upstream petroleum sector and strengthen the country’s position in the global energy market through a transparent and competitive process.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that 50 oil and gas blocks were initially offered in the 2025 Licensing Round. They comprise 16 Niger Delta onshore blocks, 18 Niger Delta shallow water blocks, one Niger Delta deep offshore block, three Benin Basin onshore blocks, four Anambra Basin onshore blocks, four Chad Basin onshore blocks and four Benue Trough onshore blocks.
Speaking at the event, Dr Amba Egba, Deputy Director of Leases Administration, Exploration and Acreage Management at NUPRC, said the technical and commercial evaluation process had been fully automated to improve transparency, fairness and efficiency.
He said bidders would be assessed based on their proposed field development plans and other technical criteria, while the commercial evaluation allocated 20 points to the signature bonus, with bids ranging from three million dollars to seven million dollars.
The 2025 Licensing Round was announced on Nov. 11, 2025, under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), 2021. The bid portal opened on Dec. 1, 2025, while a pre-bid conference was held on Jan. 14, 2026, in Lagos.
Registration and prequalification submissions closed on Feb. 27, 2026, with the prequalification exercise concluding on March 16. Of the 286 companies that applied, 196 qualified for the technical and commercial stage, while 143 ultimately submitted 200 bids.
The issues
The government’s emphasis on awarding assets only to companies with proven technical and financial capacity, backed by its “drill or drop” policy, is intended to reduce speculative licence holdings, accelerate field development and increase upstream investment and production.
What’s being said
“Thirteen blocks have been withdrawn from the current exercise and will be returned to the bid basket for future licensing rounds.” — Mrs Onitsemeyiwa Eyesan, Commission Chief Executive, NUPRC
What’s next
NUPRC will complete the commercial bid evaluation, after which successful bidders will have 90 days to meet all post-award conditions. The commission will also begin preparations for the 2026 Licensing Round following presidential approval.
Bottom line
By returning unawarded blocks to future licensing rounds and enforcing its “drill or drop” policy, the Federal Government is seeking to ensure that Nigeria’s oil and gas assets are developed by capable investors rather than remaining idle.
