FG has returned 13 oil blocks to licensing pool after failing to attract bids in 2025 round.
NewsOnline Nigeria reports that the Federal Government has announced that 13 of the 50 oil and gas blocks offered under the 2025 Licensing Round will be returned to the licensing pool after failing to attract bids from prospective investors.
The Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, disclosed this on Tuesday during the 2025 Commercial Bid Conference in Abuja.
According to Eyesan, while 50 oil and gas blocks were made available in the licensing round, only 37 blocks attracted bids from investors.
ALSO: Abacha Died During Intimate Sexual Encounter, Not Poisoning, Ex-DSS Director Dennis Amachree Claims
“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,” she said.
She further revealed that 143 companies submitted approximately 200 bids for the available assets.
“We have a total of 143 companies showing interest for 200 bids. That, for us, was remarkable, and I must say thank you,” Eyesan stated.
The NUPRC boss noted that nearly 300 companies initially expressed interest in the licensing exercise, describing the response as a sign of renewed investor confidence in Nigeria’s upstream oil and gas sector.
“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,” she said.
According to her, the number of interested firms was reduced to 196 after the prequalification stage before progressing to the technical and commercial evaluation process.
The 2025 Licensing Round, announced on November 11, 2025, under the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, offered 50 oil and gas blocks across seven sedimentary basins.
The assets include 16 onshore blocks in the Niger Delta, 18 shallow water blocks, one deep offshore block, three blocks in the Benin Basin, four in the Anambra Basin, four in the Chad Basin, and four in the Benue Trough.
The bid portal opened on December 1, 2025, while a pre-bid conference was held in Lagos on January 14, 2026, to guide prospective investors. Registration and prequalification submissions closed on February 27, 2026, with the prequalification process concluding on March 16, 2026.
The NUPRC said winning bids are being determined through a weighted evaluation of signature bonus commitments, proposed work programmes and performance security, with both technical and commercial capabilities considered in the selection process.
The framework, according to the commission, is aimed at ensuring that petroleum assets are awarded to investors with the financial capacity, technical expertise and operational competence to accelerate exploration and production in Nigeria’s upstream petroleum industry.
