KEY POINTS
- NUPRC Chief Executive Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan has officially ended the era of “dormant” oil prospecting licences, enforcing the “Drill or Drop” provision of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
- Under Section 94 of the PIA, operators must now either commence exploration and development or relinquish their licences to the government.
- The commission is currently managing the 2025 Licensing Round, which offers 50 oil blocks and has already attracted significant investor appetite.
- Nigeria and Sierra Leone are exploring a bilateral energy partnership, with Sierra Leonean officials seeking to adopt Nigeria’s regulatory framework for their own hydrocarbon sector.
MAIN STORY
In a strategic shift to boost national production, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) is aggressively enforcing transparency and performance standards. Speaking during a visit from the Petroleum Directorate of Sierra Leone in Abuja on Friday, Commission Chief Executive Mrs. Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan noted that the industry is no longer a place for “asset hoarding.”
Historically, some operators held prospecting licences for up to 20 years without conducting meaningful work. “We have moved from that era to drill or drop,” Eyesan stated, explaining that this policy has significantly cleared the “uncertainty” that previously hindered new investments. By returning dormant assets to the national portfolio, the NUPRC has created a steady pipeline for more frequent—potentially annual—bid rounds.
To maintain the integrity of the 2025 Licensing Round, the NUPRC has partnered with a reputable international audit firm to validate the bidding system. This “extra layer of validation” is designed to ensure that the 50 blocks currently on offer—including 15 onshore, 19 shallow-water, and 15 frontier basins—are awarded based on merit and technical capacity.
WHAT’S BEING SAID
- “The PIA cured the problem of uncertainties… we now have more assets in the basket which has given us the impetus for annual bid rounds,” stated Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, NUPRC Chief Executive.
- Foday Mansaray (DG, Petroleum Directorate of Sierra Leone) remarked: “We are here to learn from Nigeria, our big brothers in the industry. We are a small country… but very ambitious.”
- Regarding the 50 blocks: “The figure [of applicants] is quite impressive… a demonstration that there is indeed a very good appetite.”
WHAT’S NEXT
- Bilateral MoU: Nigeria and Sierra Leone are expected to move toward signing a formal Memorandum of Understanding to share technical expertise and regulatory best practices.
- Licensing Timeline: The technical and commercial bidding phases of the 2025 round will proceed through the second quarter, with final awards anticipated by July 2026.
- Audit Results: The findings of the external audit on the licensing system will be made public shortly to further bolster international investor confidence.
BOTTOM LINE
The Bottom Line is that Nigeria is using the PIA to transform from a passive regulator into an active market manager. By strictly enforcing “Drill or Drop,” Eyesan is signaling that the government prioritizes immediate exploration over long-term speculation, aiming to hit the national target of 3 million barrels per day (mbpd) by 2030.
 is aggressively enforcing transparency and performance standards. Speaking during a visit from the Petroleum Directorate of Sierra Leone in Abuja on Friday, Commission Chief Executive Mrs. Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan noted that the industry is no longer a place for "asset hoarding."){kind=link}