Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), yesterday, met with prospective bidders of the 50 oil and gas blocks currently on offer in the 2025 Oil Licensing Round, and other stakeholders in the Nigerian oil and gas industry for interaction on the modalities and expectations for the exercise.

The pre-bid conference, which took place in Lagos, was attended by top government officials, members of the Oil Producers Trade Section (OPTS), Independent Petroleum Producers Group (IPPG), emerging players, and other major stakeholders in the oil and gas industry.

At the event, Chief Executive of NUPRC, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, announced a reduction in entry costs for the licensing round, including a revision of the signature bonus and other pre–first oil fees, as part of ongoing reforms to attract investment into Nigeria’s upstream sector.

Eyesan, who spoke on the theme, “Growing Upstream Investment in Nigeria Through Licensing Round: The Bid Process and the Opportunities,” explained that the commission had recorded significant progress over the last few years, largely due to the implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).

She stated, “The commission has made a lot of strides in the last couple of years and it has been enabled primarily by the PIA. Today, we are witnessing one of the benefits of the PIA. With the advent of the PIA, if you do not work your block, it will be taken from you and many of the assets on offer today are recovered as fallow fields.

“We need to appreciate the federal government and the founding fathers of the PIA for this great job that they have done for us.”

According to her, lessons from previous licensing rounds have informed the 2025 licensing round with a renewed focus on attracting capable investors in the 50 assets on offer.

Eyesan said, “One of the things that we have taken into cognizance is the feedback from the prior bidding process and like the minister alluded to in his remark, we are looking for technically competent operators to work our assets.”

Eyesan further announced a major policy shift aimed at reducing barriers to entry into the sector.

She said, “The minister alluded that the cost to entry was hitherto prohibitive and we are happy to announce that His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has graciously approved a revision of the signature bonus. In addition to the revised signature bonus, the commission has also adjusted several charges payable by bidders before first oil.

“Furthermore, we have also tweaked a number of the fees that bidders will be expected to pay prior to first oil. These are some of the reforms. Today we have the tax act and it also ties with the reform to enable the industry forge ahead and achieve the government objective of growth expansion as well as economic sustainability.”

On gas development, the commission’s chief executive said government incentives were beginning to deliver results. She stated that several Final Investment Decisions (FIDs) had been reached, which were expected to influence the ongoing bidding process.

On unlocking gas resources, Eyesan said numerous incentives given for gas were yielding fruit, adding that a number of FIDs have been taken and will also come to play in the ongoing bidding process. She said the 2025 licensing round underscored Nigeria’s determination to emerge as the preferred investment destination in the energy sector.

“I believe the industry today is practically demonstrating that we are moving to becoming the preferred investment destination, with the number of indigenous companies that are now producers having increased astronomically,” Eyesan said.

She reaffirmed the commission’s commitment to building a sustainable industry, stating that NUPRC will continue to develop the sector as a complete ecosystem that supports investors, service providers, and financiers alike.

In his remarks, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, said the bidding process had a robust framework that showed a commitment to transparency and accountability in Nigeria’s upstream sector.

Lokpobiri said, “The licensing round presents a clear opportunity for investors and operators to participate in Nigeria’s petroleum industry. Let me make it clear from the beginning that these assets should not be taken as mere status symbols for people to say, ‘I have a license.’”

He said most people had held assets for 20 years without developing them, adding, “We give you licensing to operate within a given time frame, and it doesn’t belong to you.”

Lokpobiri added, “Our approach today is firmly anchored on the PIA. So far, NUPRC has complied with the extant provisions of Section 73 of the PIA, which are conditions precedent for the granting of licenses.”

Besides, the minister said PIA did not provide for asset changes or refund of bidding fees and signature bonuses.

Chairman, Senate Committee on Upstream, Senator Eteng Williams, during his goodwill message, said the commission had the backing of legislators in the licensing round process.

Williams said, “We have Project One Million Barrels, and we must achieve it. It is not the time to play games. We are ready, the federal government is ready. The future of Nigeria depends on what we are doing today.”

Separately, Eyesan, in a meeting with oil and gas operators, unveiled her agenda for the country’s upstream sector.

A statement from the commission’s Head, Media and Strategic Communication, Eniola Akinkuotu, said the vision rested on three pillars, namely, production optimization and revenue expansion; regulatory predictability and speed; and safe, governed and sustainable operations. She said this aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and his plan to hit a production target of two million barrels per day (bpd) by 2027 and three million bpd by 2030.

The NUPRC boss unveiled her agenda on January 14 at a stakeholders’ meeting in Lagos, the statement added.

Eyesan said the commission planned to increase production and expand revenue through the recovery of shut-in volumes with economic value, arresting decline, reducing losses, and accelerating time-to-first oil—without increasing burdens or transaction cost. She said that had already begun by recently “turning on the light” in a long shut-in asset.

According to Eyesan, regulatory predictability and speed can be achieved by running regulation like a service, enforcing rules transparently, and making quick time-bound decisions.

Eyesan stated that she planned to strengthen governance, process safety, host community outcomes, and encourage decarbonization through safe, governed and sustainable operations.

According to her, “Going forward, the commission will be measured on the following key success metrics: Faster, predictable regulatory approvals, higher, more secure and sustainable production, credible licensing and disciplined acreage performance, world-class HSE (Health, Safety and Environment) and process safety outcomes, trusted measurement, transparency, governance and data integrity.”

The NUPRC chief executive promised that under her leadership, the commission will enhance regulatory efficiency and predictability by publishing Service Level Agreements (SLAs) for all major approvals.

The timeline to production, she said, will be reduced through proactive discussions regarding all necessary approvals, implementation of stage-gate processes, and mutual agreement on timelines with the commission.

Eyesan said, “Stakeholders are encouraged to submit their projects for consideration. For matured opportunities, please, submit your request latest by the end of Q1, 2026. This would provide a simplified and holistic framework that creates obligations for both operators and the commission.”

She stated that the commission will launch a digital workflow for permitting, reporting and data submissions.

NUPRC added that NUPRC will work with the industry to identify capacity gaps and develop tiered intervention in the most critical areas with immediate impact on regulatory efficiency, “while we harmonize our own internal processes to eliminate conflicting regulatory actions and reduce friction.”

She revealed that NUPRC’s internal transformation programme through a project management office was in-flight, pledging to provide more details on this in the coming days.

The NUPRC chief also convened a “CCE–Operators Leadership Forum for monthly engagement”. The participants included all operators (including NNPC), OPTS, IPPG, and emerging players.

She said the meeting will focus on approval timelines, production restoration, infrastructure integrity, and gas monetization and development. This is expected to enable NUPRC to identify systemic bottlenecks and provide greater predictability.

Eyesan stressed the need to improve hydrocarbon accounting and measurement by tracking every barrel produced and promptly addressing discrepancies or losses.

On host communities, she encouraged all operators to liaise with the commission “as we plan first engagement with host community leaders to reaffirm commitment to HCDT (Host Community Development Trust) implementation”.

Eyesan said, “The commission going forward will issue quarterly progress reports. Let’s therefore bring all high impact shut in fields for approval. On the commission’s part, a 90-day programme to fast-track approvals for near-ready FDPs, well interventions, rig mobilization and other quick-win opportunities have commenced.” (THISDAY)

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