The Federal Government has announced that 13 oil and gas blocks offered during the 2025 Licensing Round will be returned to the national licensing pool after they failed to attract bids from investors. The announcement was made in Abuja during the 2025 Commercial Bid Conference by the Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan.
According to Eyesan, the government placed 50 oil and gas blocks on offer across multiple sedimentary basins during the 2025 Licensing Round, but bids were received for only 37 blocks. She explained that the remaining 13 blocks, which failed to attract commercial interest, would be returned to the country’s licensing basket for future opportunities.
“At the end of the exercise, we had 50 blocks on offer, but representations were received for only 37 of them. The remaining 13 blocks will be returned to the licensing basket,” she stated.
Despite the unbid assets, Eyesan described the licensing exercise as successful, noting that investor participation demonstrated sustained confidence in Nigeria’s upstream petroleum sector. She disclosed that nearly 300 companies initially submitted expressions of interest before the prequalification process reduced the number to 196 companies.
Following technical and commercial evaluations, 143 companies qualified to participate in the commercial bidding exercise, collectively submitting approximately 200 bids for the available assets. According to her, the turnout reflects growing investor confidence in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry despite global market challenges.
The 2025 Licensing Round, introduced in November 2025 under the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, offered oil and gas assets across seven sedimentary basins. The available blocks included: 16 onshore blocks in the Niger Delta 18 shallow water blocks, one deep offshore block, three blocks in the Benin Basin, four blocks in the Anambra Basin, four blocks in the Chad Basin,four blocks in the Benue Trough
The bid exercise began with the launch of the application portal in December 2025, followed by a pre-bid conference held in Lagos in January 2026. Registration and prequalification closed in February, while technical and commercial evaluations were completed in March.
Under the licensing framework, successful applicants are selected using a weighted evaluation process that considers: signature bonus commitments, proposed work programmes, technical competence, financial capacity, performance guarantees
The Federal Government said the assessment framework is designed to ensure that oil and gas assets are awarded to investors with the technical expertise and financial capability required to accelerate exploration and production, supporting Nigeria’s long-term energy development objectives.
