Discretion to Digital: NUPRC Pushes for Transparency at 2025 Oil Bid Round
For decades, Nigeria’s oil block licensing rounds have been among the most closely watched exercises in the country’s petroleum industry, historically generating intense scrutiny over transparency, fairness and investor confidence issues.
While earlier licensing exercises were often criticised for discretionary decision-making and post bid controversies that overshadowed the commercial objectives of the process, Emmanuel Addeh writes that the latest round appeared to be a clean break from the past.
The 2025 Licensing Round conducted by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) attempted to draw a clear line between that past and a new regulatory order envisaged under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.
From its design to its execution, the exercise seemed deliberately structured around digital processes, competitive evaluation and independent oversight. Most significantly, the commercial bid conference was streamed live, allowing investors, observers and the wider public to witness the process in real time.
Combined with the participation of oversight institutions such as the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), journalists and civil society organisations, the licensing round, the first under the NUPRC Chief Executive, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, represented perhaps the
most visible demonstration yet of the industry’s efforts to institutionalise transparency rather than merely proclaiming it.
PIA as Enabler
The enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act fundamentally altered Nigeria’s upstream regulatory architecture. One of its most important innovations was removing much of the discretion that previously surrounded the allocation of petroleum assets. Under the old regime, petroleum ministers exercised broad powers in awarding oil blocks, a practice that frequently attracted criticism from investors, industry analysts and transparency advocates.
But the PIA instead established a rules-based system in which competitive bidding became the principal mechanism for awarding petroleum acreage. With the NUPRC assuming responsibility for organising licensing rounds, the emphasis shifted from administrative discretion to published guidelines, measurable evaluation criteria and regulatory accountability.
Under Eyesan, the 2025 Licensing Round therefore became more than a routine acreage offering. It served as one of the biggest practical tests of whether the new legal framework could translate legislative intentions into operational reality.
Structured Process
The process officially commenced on November 11, 2025, when the NUPRC announced that 50 oil and gas blocks across seven sedimentary basins would be offered to investors.
The acreage covered mature producing provinces as well as frontier basins, including 16 blocks in the Niger Delta Onshore, 18 in the Niger Delta Shallow Water, one Deep Offshore block, three in the Benin Basin, four in the Anambra Basin, four in the Chad Basin and four in the Benue Trough.
Afterwards, registration opened on December 1, 2025, while a pre-bid conference held in Lagos in January 2026 provided investors with detailed guidance on technical requirements, commercial terms and regulatory expectations.
Rather than relying only on closed door engagements, the Commission published timelines, evaluation procedures and application requirements well in advance. This predictability was itself an important departure from earlier licensing exercises where uncertainty regarding procedures sometimes complicated participation.
It was therefore not surprising that the response from investors suggested sustained interest despite global competition for upstream capital.
Out of 286 companies that submitted applications for prequalification, 196 were eventually pre-qualified. From this pool, 143 companies proceeded to submit 200 technical and commercial bids covering 37 of the 50 blocks on offer.
Technology as Transparency Tool
One of the defining features of the 2025 Licensing Round was the extensive deployment of digital technology. The Commission digitised virtually every stage of the process. Interested investors could access geological data electronically, submit applications through online platforms and interact digitally with regulators throughout the exercise.
Commission Chief Executive, Eyesan, had earlier signalled the Commission’s commitment to digital transformation shortly after assuming office, pledging to eliminate paper-based internal communications and arguing that digitisation improves efficiency, accountability and traceability.
That philosophy extended naturally into the licensing process itself.
So, for roughly 10 hours last Tuesday at the final stage of the event, digital platforms reduced opportunities for manual intervention while creating electronic audit trails capable of tracking every stage of the bidding exercise.
For international investors accustomed to digital licensing systems in other jurisdictions, the reforms also signalled Nigeria’s determination to modernise its regulatory environment.
Promise Kept
The emphasis on transparency was consistently reinforced by key government officials throughout the exercise. Commission Chief Executive of the NUPRC, Eyesan, promised the licensing round would be conducted “strictly in line with President Bola Tinubu’s directive for transparency, fairness and global best practice.”
In various forums leading to the final ceremony, she reiterated the importance of sticking to the rules, especially with the deployment of digital tools, which the organisers took time to explain to the potential awardees at the event.
Before the actual day, Eyesan assured the investors: “You are not navigating uncertainty, you are operating with a framework that is transparent, predictable, and deliberately designed to inspire confidence.
“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.
“The 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.
On Tuesday, Eyesan repeated this, stressing that every stage followed the published timetable from registration and prequalification through technical evaluation and commercial bidding.
For his part, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, also described the commercial bid conference as evidence that “Nigeria’s licensing regime is anchored on fairness, accountability and international best practice,” arguing that the Petroleum Industry Act had strengthened investor confidence through regulatory certainty and transparency.
Similarly, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, praised the PIA for eliminating discretionary allocation of oil blocks and replacing it with “a transparent competitive bidding process,” saying the reforms had made Nigeria one of the world’s most attractive destinations for upstream investment.
And the World Watched
Perhaps, one of the most symbolic departures from previous licensing rounds occurred during the commercial bid conference on Tuesday in Abuja. In one of the rarest moments in Nigeria’s petroleum licensing history, the decisive stage of the process was broadcast live. In fact, the
entire process is still available online, a sign that the NUPRC might be saying: “ There’s nothing to hide”.
The significance extended beyond technological convenience. By opening the process to public observation, the Commission effectively invited scrutiny rather than attempting to avoid it.
Industry participants, potential investors, journalists, analysts and ordinary citizens were able to watch the proceedings as they unfolded. The conference itself stretched for almost 10 hours, reflecting both the complexity of the exercise and the Commission’s determination to complete the process publicly rather than behind closed doors.
Every commercial bid, every score and every outcome unfolded before a live audience. Such openness represented an important confidence building measure in a country where perceptions often influence investment decisions as much as regulatory frameworks.
It would then seem like rather than asking stakeholders simply to trust the process, the Commission allowed them to see it.
Testimonials
The transparency and credibility of the 2025 Licensing Round also drew strong endorsements from key industry stakeholders and independent observers, many of whom described the commercial bid conference as one of the most open and professionally conducted licensing exercises in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.
SLB Country Director, Nosa Omorodion, said: “The openness, the transparency, it was really, really encouraging…The doubting Thomases that came are probably leaving here as converts. Kudos to the leadership of the NUPRC, kudos to innovation and kudos to the winners that believed in the process.”
President of the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE), Olajumoke Ajayi, described the exercise as being of international standard, saying: “It was truly of international standard because of the professionalism that went into it. It was highly transparent.”
Executive Director, Business and Asset Management at TotalEnergies Nigeria, Abiodun Afolabi, said the exercise represented an improvement on previous bid rounds, stressing: “What I saw here today was a very transparent…People now know the rules of engagement. We can prepare for it, and we know that the licensing round has a model that works. What has to be done is consistency of transparency.”
Independent Oversight
Transparency is rarely achieved through openness alone. Independent verification remains equally important. Recognising this, the NUPRC invited multiple institutions to monitor the exercise.
Representatives of NEITI, civil society organisations and non-governmental organisations also participated as independent observers. Their presence reinforced the message that oversight extended beyond government institutions alone.
This reflected international best practice within extractive industries where independent monitoring helps strengthen confidence in licensing outcomes.
Earlier in the year, Eyesan had specifically identified deeper collaboration with NEITI as one of her priorities, arguing that stronger institutional partnerships would enhance transparency while improving investor confidence.
Capacity, Not Dollars Alone
Another notable feature of the 2025 Licensing Round was the federal government’s decision to place less emphasis on aggressive signature bonuses. Historically, high upfront payments often favoured companies with substantial financial resources regardless of their technical capacity to develop petroleum assets.
This time, signature bonuses ranged between $3 million and $7 million, significantly lower than previous exercises. Instead, the evaluation framework assigned greater weight to technical capability, exploration work programmes, financial strength, development concepts and speed to production. Winning bidders emerged through a heavily publicised weighted combination of technical and commercial scores rather than the highest cash offer alone.
The Commission repeatedly emphasised that its objective was not simply to maximise immediate government revenue but to identify investors capable of developing the assets over the long term.
That approach reflected changing realities within global upstream investment where governments increasingly compete for limited capital by prioritising credible operators over speculative bidders.
No Speculative Ownership
Another recurring message throughout the commercial bid conference concerned post award accountability. Winning companies were reminded that emerging as preferred bidders represented only one step in the process.
Final Petroleum Prospecting Licences would only be issued after payment of signature bonuses, ministerial consent and fulfilment of all post award obligations prescribed under the PIA.
Perhaps most importantly, the Commission introduced clear consequences for non compliance.
Successful bidders were given 90 days to satisfy all conditions.
Failure would result in automatic forfeiture of the award, with reserve bidders eligible to replace defaulting companies. Eyesan’s declaration that licences were “not trophies” but obligations to invest, drill and produce encapsulated the Commission’s broader philosophy, shifting the emphasis from ownership to performance.
Work in Progress
The results themselves illustrated another important aspect of transparency. Not every block
found a buyer. Thirty seven of the 50 offered assets received bids while 13 remained unattractive to investors.
Rather than attempting to allocate these blocks regardless, the Commission openly acknowledged the outcome. According to Eyesan, most of the unsuccessful assets were located in frontier basins requiring additional geological work and de-risking before becoming commercially viable.
The Commission indicated that further technical studies would be undertaken before the assets are offered again in future licensing rounds. This willingness to accept market outcomes rather than engineered artificial success arguably strengthened the credibility of the exercise.
While the exercise marked significant progress, it would be premature to conclude that transparency challenges have been permanently resolved. The ultimate success of any licensing round extends beyond the announcement of winners.
Inevitably, future assessments will focus on whether successful bidders fulfil their work commitments, whether production targets materialise and whether regulatory consistency is maintained throughout the life cycle of the licences.
1. Chief Executive of NUPRC, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan.
2. L-R: NUPRC Executive Commissioner, Enorense Amadasu; CCE, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan; Minister of State for Gas, Ekperikpe Ekpo and Minister of State Oil, Heineken Lokpobiri.
