By EMMANUELLA ANOKAM

Thirty-one companies have emerged winners of 37 oil and gas blocks following a keenly contested bidding process at the 2025 Licensing Round held in Abuja.

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) announced the successful bidders at the commercial bid conference held on Tuesday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that a total of 143 companies had submitted 200 bids for 37 out of the 50 oil and gas blocks originally put on offer.

These blocks were drawn from diverse terrains.

The terrains include the Niger Delta Onshore (16), Niger Delta Shallow Water (18), Niger Delta Deep Offshore (one), Benin Basin Onshore (three), Anambra Basin Onshore (four), Chad Basin Onshore (four) and Benue Trough onsure (four).

Of the 50 blocks on offer, 37 received bids while no bids were submitted for the remaining 13.

The 37 blocks that attracted bids were drawn from all the terrains, including the frontier basins like the Benue Trough, Chad Basin, Anambra Basin and the Benin Basin.

This is the first time in Nigeria’s energy history that frontier basins would attract such level of investor interest.

The companies that emerged winners of the 2025 Licensing Round include SSonic Petroleum Limited (PPL 2A29), CFP Pipeline and Flowlines (2A30), Dutchford E&P Limited (2A32), Attabanson Global Company Limited (2A33 and PPL 901) and Rosem Energy Limited (2A38).

Other winners include Pivot-GIS Limited (2A39), Network E&P (2A40), Asharami (2A41), LexOil (2A42), BVOF (2A43), Gupsco Energy Limited (2A44 and 2A51), Saratoga (2A45), Volante (2A46), Concept-Reel Petroleum Services Limited (2A47 and 2A55) and Clinton Oil Field (2A48 and 2A62)

Others are Nuway Oaklane Limited (2A49), Ramec (2A50), Italia (2A53), Blueridge E&P (2A54), Up Energies Limited (2A56), AYM Shafa (2A57), Blackrock Holdings Limited (2A58), Funtay Integrated Business Limited (2A59) and Riparian Development and Production Limited (2A60).

There was also Nikstallis (2A61 and PPL 900), Stardeep Petroleum (PPL 2010), Dakoda & U Limited (PPL308 and PPL 800), Southborne Oil and Gas Limited (PPL 902), Lanaka Petroleum (PPL 903) Highban Resources Limited (PPL 700), Eyre Energy Limited (PPL 801).

In her remarks, the Commission Chief Executive, Mrs Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, said the firms would be presented final awards after the appropriate signature bonus payment and the approval of the Minister of Petroleum Resources.

Eyesan said that it was in line with the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021.

She thanked President Bola Tinubu for supporting the commission to deliver a seamless licensing round.

While congratulating the winners, she urged them to pay their signature bonuses as quickly as possible and also develop their assets or risk losing them in line with the drill or drop provision enforced by the commission.

The commercial bid conference was closely monitored by representatives of the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources.

It was also monitored by the Federal Ministry of Finance, the Nigeria Extractive Industry and Transparency Initiative (NEITI) and several other stakeholders in line with the extant laws. (NAN)

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