The Federal Government, through the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), has opened the 2026 oil and gas licensing round, putting 40 blocks across land, shallow water, and deepwater terrains up for competition. The move aims to attract new investment into Nigeria’s upstream sector.
NUPRC will introduce stronger transparency requirements in the new round. Every bidder must disclose its beneficial owners, while the Commission will provide more information on how it evaluates bids and publish the results of the process in greater detail.
NUPRC Chief Executive Officer Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan announced the 2026 licensing round during the Commission’s fifth anniversary celebration in Abuja.
Eyesan said President Bola Tinubu approved the licensing round and invited companies with the technical expertise, financial strength, and capacity to develop Nigeria’s petroleum resources to participate.
She said Nigeria must compete strongly for upstream investment because investors can choose from several oil-producing markets. She stressed that clear regulations, predictable processes, and reliable data will influence where investors commit their capital.
The announcement comes shortly after NUPRC completed the 2025 licensing round, which attracted strong participation from both Nigerian and international companies.
The 2025 round attracted 143 companies that submitted 200 bids, with 31 companies securing 37 oil and gas blocks. The results also showed growing investor interest in areas outside the traditional Niger Delta producing region, including the Anambra Basin, Benue Trough, Chad Basin, and Benin Basin.
Since the Petroleum Industry Act took effect in 2021, NUPRC has conducted three licensing exercises: the 2022 Deep Offshore Mini Bid Round, the 2024 Nigerian Licensing Round, and the 2025 Nigerian Licensing Round. These exercises have resulted in the award of 57 petroleum prospecting licenses.
Eyesan said NUPRC wants to make the 2026 licensing process more transparent and predictable. She maintained that companies should secure petroleum acreage through a competitive process rather than discretionary allocation.
She linked this approach to the Petroleum Industry Act, which established NUPRC and introduced new rules for managing Nigeria’s upstream petroleum resources. The Act requires competitive and transparent processes for awarding petroleum licenses and leases.
The Commission said it will apply lessons from previous licensing rounds to the 2026 exercise, including recommendations from the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. The new guidelines will place greater emphasis on disclosure, bid evaluation, and transparency.
The 2026 round also forms part of NUPRC’s wider efforts to increase production from existing assets. The Commission is working to restore more than 788,000 barrels per day of shut-in production across 63 operators and advance offshore projects estimated at between $30 billion and $50 billion towards final investment decisions.
The 2025 round also showed that investor interest is expanding beyond Nigeria’s established producing areas. The Anambra Basin, Benue Trough, Chad Basin, and Benin Basin attracted significant attention, highlighting growing interest in the country’s frontier basins.
The 2026 licensing round therefore goes beyond offering 40 new blocks. It represents another step in NUPRC’s efforts to create a more competitive and transparent upstream investment process while bringing new acreage and capital into both established and frontier basins.
source:punchng.com
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