2025 Oil Licensing Round: NUPRC Shortlists Pre-qualified Firms for 50 Oil Blocks

• Notifies successful applicants

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja and Peter Uzoho in Lagos

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) yesterday announced that it had completed the pre-qualification stage of the 2025 Licensing Round and has notified successful pre-qualified applicants accordingly.

In a statement issued yesterday, signed by its Head of Media and Strategic Communication, Eniola Akinkuotu, the NUPRC said the notification of pre-qualified bidders was done on March 16, 2026 in line with the 2025 licensing round guidelines.

With the pre-qualification stage now successfully completed, the commission said it will from Tuesday permit successful applicants to lease data in preparation for the technical and commercial bid submissions.

The 2025 oil licensing round marks one of the most closely watched upstream exercises in Nigeria in recent years, coming at a time when the country is seeking to reverse declining crude oil production and attract fresh investment into its hydrocarbons sector.

The exercise is being conducted under the framework of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), which restructured the industry and created the NUPRC as the body responsible for regulating and administering licensing rounds in a more transparent and commercially driven manner.

In the current round, a total of 50 oil and gas blocks have been put up for bidding, spanning onshore, shallow water, deep offshore, and frontier acreages across multiple sedimentary basins.  The breadth of the assets is designed to attract a wide range of investors, from indigenous firms with strong onshore capabilities to international oil companies with deepwater expertise, while also opening up less-explored frontier regions.

Nigeria has struggled in recent years to meet its Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) production quota, largely due to a mix of underinvestment, ageing infrastructure, crude theft, and regulatory uncertainties that persisted before the enactment of the PIA in 2021.

Output has fluctuated significantly below installed capacity, heightening pressure on the government to unlock new reserves, optimise existing assets, and restore investor confidence in the upstream segment.

In the statement, the agency noted that pre-qualified applicants were mandated to lease data only from the two data sources (as applicable) and upload evidence of payment as a pre-requisite to the submission of bids.

“The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) wishes to inform the public that it has completed the pre-qualification stage of the 2025 Licensing Round and has notified successful pre-qualified applicants accordingly.

“This was done on March 16, 2026 in line with the 2025 Licensing Round Guidelines. With the pre-qualification stage now successfully completed, the commission will from today (yesterday), March 17, 2026, permit successful applicants to lease data in preparation for the technical and commercial bid submissions.

“Please note, pre-qualified applicants are mandated to lease data only from the two data sources (as applicable) and upload evidence of payment as a pre-requisite to the submission of bids,” the NUPRC stated.

Data leasing, which follows the pre-qualification stage, plays a central role in the process, as it enables bidders to access detailed geological and geophysical information required to make informed technical and commercial proposals. The insistence on designated data sources, THISDAY learnt, reflected an effort by the regulator to standardise information access and maintain integrity in the bidding process.

The 2025 oil licensing round was formally launched in December 2025 following approval by President Bola Tinubu, as part of efforts to attract fresh investment into the country’s upstream petroleum sector.