The Federal Government, through the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, has announced the 2026 oil licensing round, offering 40 blocks across land, shallow water and deepwater terrains as the Federal Government intensifies efforts to attract fresh investment into the upstream sector.

The Commission also said the new bidding guidelines would require the disclosure of the beneficial owners of every bidder, while the evaluation methodology and results of the exercise would be published more fully.

The Commission’s Chief Executive Officer, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, announced the licensing round during her closing remarks at the fifth anniversary celebration of the NUPRC in Abuja on Tuesday.

Eyesan said the announcement followed the approval of President Bola Tinubu and the Minister of Petroleum Resources, adding that the blocks would be open to investors with the required technical competence, financial capacity and commitment to develop Nigeria’s petroleum resources.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the wait is over. It is with great joy that I announce that pursuant to the approval of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Honourable Minister of Petroleum Resources, the Nigerian 2026 Licensing Round is hereby announced.

“This round offers 40 blocks across land, shallow water and deepwater terrains. I can see my IOC is already permutating. They are open to investors with the technical competence, financial capability and, above all, the commitment to develop Nigeria’s petroleum resources.

“We will not rest on our oars. Competition for upstream capital is fierce, and it grows fiercer by the day. Investors have choices. They go where the rules are clear, where the process is predictable and where data can be trusted.”

The announcement comes after the NUPRC concluded the 2025 licensing round, which attracted significant interest from local and international oil companies.

According to the NUPRC boss, 143 companies submitted 200 bids in the 2025 round, with 31 companies emerging as winners of 37 blocks. He said the exercise also marked a significant shift in investor interest beyond the traditional Niger Delta producing areas, as frontier basins including the Anambra Basin, Benue Trough, Chad Basin and Benin Basin attracted investors.

Since the Petroleum Industry Act came into force in 2021, the commission said it had conducted three licensing exercises, the 2022 Deep Offshore Mini Bid Round, the 2024 Nigerian Licensing Round and the 2025 Nigerian Licensing Round, resulting in the award of 57 Petroleum Prospecting Licences.

Eyesan said the commission was determined to make the 2026 exercise more transparent and predictable, stressing that the award of petroleum acreage should no longer be discretionary.

“Five years ago, the Petroleum Industry Act 2021 gave birth to the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission and placed in our hands a sacred trust to administer Nigeria’s petroleum resources for the benefit of all Nigerians.

“Of all the reforms the PIA brought, none speaks more to who we are than this: in Nigeria, petroleum acreage is won, not given. It is no longer discretionary. The PIA made transparent and competitive bidding the rules for the award of Petroleum Prospecting Licences and Petroleum Mining Leases. Clear rules have taken the place of discretion. We have honoured that reform.”

The NUPRC boss said the lessons from previous licensing rounds, including recommendations from the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, would be incorporated into the 2026 process.

She said NEITI’s review of the 2022–2024 licensing rounds found the process to be generally professional, transparent and inclusive, while also identifying areas for improvement in evaluation methodology, disclosure of results, public access to bidding information and beneficial ownership disclosure.

Eyesan said the commission had accepted those recommendations and would implement them in the new round.

“The guidelines will also set out our evaluation methodology in full, provide for fuller publication of results and require disclosure of beneficial owners of every bidder, in keeping with NEITI’s counsel.

“In keeping with our tradition, we will publish the timetable at the outset, and we will keep to it. In 2025, when we published, there was a lot of scepticism about whether we would meet the timeline. And we proved all our skeptics wrong. We were right on time, not one day late.”

She said certainty over the bidding timetable was important because potential investors needed sufficient time to secure board approvals, mobilise funds and prepare their bids.

“Investors must plan. Boards must approve. Funds must be mobilised. Every one of these decisions depends on dates that hold. We will certainly hold,” she stated.

The commission also plans to strengthen communication with prospective bidders through its licensing website and portal, virtual data room, webinars and a dedicated help desk.

Eyesan said it would communicate all material clarifications to all participants to ensure no bidder received an advantage over others.

“And every material clarification will be shared with all participants. No bidder will know what others do not,” she said.

The regulator said the 2026 round would also support Nigeria’s efforts to raise crude oil and condensate production and expand gas reserves.

Eyesan said assets offered in the previous licensing exercises, subject to successful development, were expected to contribute significantly to the country’s production target.

She said the assets could add about 500 million barrels of reserves and at least 300,000 barrels per day of crude oil and condensate production within five years, describing the expected additions as an important step towards the national target of three million barrels per day by 2030.

She added that the assets were expected to contribute about 20 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves and 50 million standard cubic feet of gas per day of production in support of the Federal Government’s “Decade of Gas” initiative.

However, the NUPRC boss warned successful bidders that winning a licence would come with an obligation to develop the assets.

“To those who will win, my message remains the same: Drill or Drop. A licence is a commitment to Nigeria, not a trophy on the wall,” she said.

Eyesan said full details of the blocks, qualification requirements and participation procedures would be published on the commission’s website and dedicated licensing portal in the coming days.

She urged Nigerian and international investors to participate in the exercise, saying the commission wanted Nigeria to remain a competitive destination for upstream investment.

“I want Nigeria to win that contest. I want Nigeria to remain the destination of choice for hydrocarbon investments. So, we will make our award processes more consistent and more predictable and we will put comprehensive, current and investment-ready technical data in the hands of bidders so that they can evaluate with confidence and bid competitively.

“The Nigeria 2026 Licensing Round guidelines will clearly set out the eligibility criteria, bid parameters, evaluation criteria and conditions of award. They will be applied consistently so that every eligible investor, large or small, Nigerian or international, competes on a level playing field.”

The licensing round is therefore coming at a time when the Federal Government and the NUPRC are seeking to position Nigeria as a more predictable investment destination, while also ensuring that newly awarded acreage translates into actual exploration, development and production. (The PUNCH)

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