The Federal Government has announced that 13 of the 50 oil and gas blocks offered under the 2025 Licensing Round will be returned to the licensing basket after failing to attract investor bids.
Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, disclosed this on Tuesday during the 2025 Commercial Bid Conference in Abuja. She explained that while 50 blocks were initially placed on offer, only 37 received interest from prospective investors, leaving 13 blocks to be reintroduced into the basket.
Eyesan revealed that 143 companies submitted approximately 200 bids for the available assets, describing the level of participation as “remarkable.” She noted that nearly 300 companies had initially expressed interest in the licensing round, reflecting renewed investor confidence in Nigeria’s upstream petroleum sector.
The 2025 Licensing Round, announced on November 11, 2025, in line with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, offered 50 oil and gas blocks across seven sedimentary basins. The framework guiding the bid process is designed to ensure that petroleum assets are awarded to investors with the financial strength, technical expertise, and operational capacity required to accelerate exploration and production in Nigeria’s upstream industry.
