The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has begun formal engagements with investors seeking to participate in the sale of 50 oil and gas blocks under the 2025 Oil Licensing Round, holding a pre-bid conference in Lagos to outline the rules, incentives and expectations for the process.
The meeting brought together senior government officials, representatives of the Oil Producers Trade Section, the Independent Petroleum Producers Group, emerging indigenous companies and other key industry stakeholders.
Speaking at the event, the Chief Executive of NUPRC, Engr. Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, announced a major reduction in entry costs for the licensing round, including a downward review of signature bonuses and other charges payable before first oil, in a move aimed at making Nigeria’s upstream sector more attractive to investors.
She said the reforms were made possible by the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), which now allows government to repossess undeveloped assets and re-offer them to serious investors.
“Many of the blocks being offered today are fallow fields recovered under the provisions of the PIA. If you do not work your asset, it will be taken back,” she said, adding that the commission had drawn lessons from previous rounds to ensure only technically competent operators emerge.
Eyesan explained that President Bola Tinubu had approved the review of signature bonuses and other pre-production fees to reduce the high cost of entry that had discouraged investment in the past.
In addition to oil, she said the incentives introduced to promote gas development were already yielding results, with several Final Investment Decisions reached, which would influence the current bidding process.
She stressed that the 2025 licensing round was part of a broader strategy to reposition Nigeria as the preferred investment destination in Africa’s energy sector, noting the rapid growth of indigenous producers in recent years.
In his remarks, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, warned bidders against treating oil blocks as trophies.
“These licenses are not status symbols. You are given a time frame to develop the asset. If you sit on it, it will be taken back,” he said, adding that the entire process is anchored on the PIA and that the law does not allow refunds of bidding fees or signature bonuses.
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Upstream, Senator Eteng Williams, assured the commission of legislative backing, stressing that Nigeria’s target of producing one million additional barrels daily must be achieved.
“The future of this country depends on what we do today. This is not the time to play games,” he said.
Separately, Eyesan unveiled her strategic agenda for Nigeria’s upstream sector at a stakeholders’ meeting in Lagos on January 14. According to a statement by NUPRC’s Head of Media and Strategic Communication, Eniola Akinkuotu, the agenda is built on three pillars: production optimisation and revenue expansion; regulatory predictability and speed; and safe, governed and sustainable operations.
She said the plan aligns with President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and the target of increasing crude oil production to two million barrels per day by 2027 and three million barrels per day by 2030.
The NUPRC boss said the commission would focus on recovering shut-in volumes, reducing production losses, shortening the time to first oil and strengthening governance, while avoiding excessive regulatory burdens.
To improve efficiency, she announced plans to publish Service Level Agreements for all major regulatory approvals, introduce digital workflows for permits and data submissions, and launch a monthly CCE–Operators Leadership Forum to address bottlenecks in approvals, production restoration, infrastructure integrity and gas monetisation.
She also pledged to strengthen hydrocarbon accounting by tracking every barrel produced to eliminate discrepancies and losses.
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