By EMMANUELLA ANOKAM

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) says it has completed the pre-qualification stage of the 2025 oil Licensing Round and notified successful pre-qualified applicants accordingly.

A statement by Eniola Akinkuotu, Head, Media and Strategic Communication, on Tuesday in Abuja, said the pre-qualification was done on March 16, in line with the 2025 Licensing Round Guidelines.

“With the pre-qualification stage now successfully completed, the Commission will from March 17 permit successful applicants to lease data in preparation for the technical and commercial bid submissions.

“Please note that the pre-qualified applicants are mandated to lease data only from the two data sources (as applicable) and upload evidence of payment as a prerequisite to the submission of bids.

“For more details, visit the licensing round portal: https://br2025.nuprc.gov.ng/,” Akinkuotu said.

A licensing round is a process by which the government grants oil and gas exploration and production rights to companies through a competitive bidding process.

In December 2025, the NUPRC opened bidding for 50 oil and gas blocks, aiming to attract 10 billion dollars in investment.

The 50 blocks comprise 15 onshore assets, 19 shallow water assets, 15 frontier assets and one deep water asset. (NAN)