By EMMANUELLA ANOKAM

The Ministers of State for Petroleum Resources, Sen. Heineken Lokpobiri (Oil) and Dr Ekperikpe Ekpo (Gas), have urged successful bidders in the 2025 Licensing Round to immediately develop their awarded assets to drive Nigeria’s oil and gas production.

The Ministers made the call on Tuesday at the Commercial Bid Conference of the 2025 Licensing Round, organised by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) in Abuja.

Lokpobiri urged successful bidders to develop the assets rather than treat the licenses as investment trophies or merely use them to seek technical or financial partners.

Lokpobiri recalled that some license holders in the past acquired oil blocks but failed to develop them, instead showcasing the assets at international conferences while searching for investors.

He described Nigeria as a strategic location in the Gulf of Guinea adding that reforms introduced under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) had strengthened the country’s competitiveness in the global energy market.

“Petroleum Industry Act has eliminated discretionary allocation of oil blocks, making the licensing process more transparent and competitive.

“Under the current legal framework, oil blocks are awarded through a competitive process rather than ministerial discretion.

“In the past, I have seen people who go around all the conferences in the world wearing the licenses like trophies and using them merely to seek partners, without carrying out exploration.

“These licences that we issue today should not be held as trophies, rather successful bidders should develop the assets immediately to boost production,” he warned.

Lokpobiri described Nigeria as one of the world’s most attractive destinations for upstream oil and gas investment, saying recent geopolitical developments had further reinforced the strategic value of the country’s hydrocarbon resources.

Ekpo, in his address said the licensing round marked another milestone in Nigeria’s commitment to developing its petroleum resources through a transparent, competitive and credible framework in line with the PIA.

He said the Federal Government remained committed to creating an enabling environment that would attract investment, accelerate exploration and production, and unlock the full value of the nation’s hydrocarbon resources.

According to him, fresh upstream investments are critical to the success of the Decade of Gas Initiative by increasing gas reserves, expanding domestic gas supply, supporting industrialisation, improving energy access and strengthening Nigeria’s position in global gas markets.

Ekpo said the PIA, alongside ongoing policy and fiscal reforms, had enhanced investor confidence by promoting regulatory certainty, transparency and ease of doing business.

He commended the NUPRC for conducting the licensing process with professionalism, transparency and integrity, while encouraging investors to take advantage of Nigeria’s vast oil and gas opportunities. (NAN)

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