ABUJA, Nigeria (XOL Africa) — Nigeria’s federal government has returned 13 oil and gas blocks to the national licensing pool after the assets failed to attract bids from investors during the country’s 2025 licensing round, the upstream petroleum regulator said Tuesday.
The announcement was made by Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, chief executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, or NUPRC, during the 2025 Commercial Bid Conference in Abuja.
The licensing round offered 50 petroleum assets across seven sedimentary basins, but investors submitted bids for only 37 of the blocks.
“At the end of the exercise, we had 50 blocks on offer, but we only had representation for 37 of those 50 blocks. Thirteen of those blocks will be returning back to the basket,” Eyesan said.
Despite the unsold assets, the NUPRC described the bidding exercise as evidence of renewed investor interest in Nigeria’s upstream petroleum sector.
Eyesan said 143 companies submitted about 200 commercial bids after completing the commission’s prequalification process.
Nearly 300 companies initially expressed interest when the licensing round was launched, but the number was reduced to 196 following technical and financial assessments before the commercial bidding stage.
“When we started the journey, we got interest from almost 300 companies. That, in my view, was an indication that the tide has turned for Nigeria,” Eyesan said.
She said the screening process was designed to ensure that only financially capable and technically qualified investors proceeded to the commercial bidding stage.
The 2025 Licensing Round was launched Nov. 11, 2025, under Nigeria’s Petroleum Industry Act of 2021. The assets included 16 onshore blocks in the Niger Delta, 18 shallow-water blocks and one deep offshore block, as well as acreage in the Benin, Anambra, Chad and Benue Trough basins.
The bid portal opened Dec. 1, 2025, followed by a pre-bid conference in Lagos on Jan. 14, 2026. Registration and submission of prequalification documents closed Feb. 27, with the evaluation process completed March 16.
The NUPRC said the latest licensing framework differs from previous rounds in which the highest financial offer often played a decisive role in determining successful bidders.
Under the new system, bids will be assessed using a weighted evaluation of signature bonus commitments, proposed work programs and performance security.
The commission said the approach is intended to ensure that oil and gas assets are awarded to companies with the financial strength, technical expertise and operational capacity needed to accelerate exploration, increase production and unlock Nigeria’s hydrocarbon resources.
