Over 20 Nigerian marginal oilfield operators are voicing frustration three months after applying for Petroleum Prospecting Licence (PPL) extensions. Their licences expired in June 2025, and although they submitted requests to the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) before the June 27 deadline, the regulator has offered no response. More than 40 PPLs expired on that date, yet operators say the Commission has gone silent.
The NUPRC has refused to explain the delay. Its Head of Communication and Media Strategy, Eniola Akinkuotu, promised feedback but never followed through, leaving operators without clarity.
The Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021 places a clear duty on PPL holders to commit to a work programme that typically involves drilling at least one exploration well to a specified depth. In frontier acreages, companies may only conduct geophysical work. While the law empowers the NUPRC to process licence applications, it gives the Minister of Petroleum the authority to grant or revoke them based on the Commission’s recommendations.
The NUPRC submitted its list of approved licence applications to the Ministry of Petroleum Resources for final approval, yet as of September 23, 2025, operators with expired PPLs have received no decision on their licences.
Nneamaka Okafor, Special Adviser on Communication to the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), confirmed that the Minister received the list on September 15, 2025. She insisted the Minister could take up to 60 days to review the approvals, though the PIA does not provide for such a timeline. Operators counter that the law does not require them to make presentations to the Minister after completing the process with the NUPRC, yet the Ministry has forced them to do so. One operator described the added step as “creating unnecessary gatekeepers.”
Okafor defended the Minister, arguing he has not had enough time to review the documents. She added that any operator who meets the PIA threshold has nothing to fear, since the Minister’s focus is to bring wells into operation and raise national production.
So far, only two expired PPLs have advanced to Petroleum Mining Lease (PML) status. Multisub Energy secured approval for PPL 218 in the Olure field, and Ingentia Energies converted PPL 202 in the Egbolom field, allowing both companies to begin commercial hydrocarbon production under Section 79 of the PIA.
Three more marginal field operators are nearing conversion to PMLs. Apani Energy is working on PPL 225 in the Apani field, Nuway Oaklane holds PPL 219 in the Omofejo field, and Tulcan Energy is preparing for PPL 244 in the Tom Shot Bank field, which expires in February 2026.
source : africaoilgasreport.com
African Energy Council