FG Offers 40 Oil Blocks in New Licensing Round

FG Offers 40 Oil Blocks in New Licensing Round

The Federal Government, through the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, has actually revealed the 2026 oil licensing round, providing 40 blocks throughout land, shallow water and deepwater surfaces as the Federal Government magnifies efforts to draw in fresh financial investment into the upstream sector.

This came as the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, revealed that Nigeria’s petroleum and condensate production has actually increased to 1.82 million barrels each day, representing a boost of more than 80 percent from the level taped when the President Bola Tinubu-led administration presumed workplace in 2023.

The minister divulged this on Tuesday in Abuja, estimating information sent to his workplace on Monday, including that the boost was being supported by a sharp increase in drilling activity, with more than 73 rigs now active in the nation.

The production development came as the NUPRC exposed that it had actually authorized 120 oil and gas Field Development Plans given that 2024, representing about $47.6 bn in capital dedications.

The jobs, according to the Commission’s Chief Executive, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, are anticipated to include 1.74 million barrels of oil and 13.9 billion basic cubic feet of gas daily to Nigeria’s production capability when totally established.

On oil blocks, the commission likewise stated the brand-new bidding standards would need the disclosure of the advantageous owners of every bidder, while the assessment method and outcomes of the workout would be released more completely.

Eyesan revealed the licensing round throughout her closing remarks at the 5th anniversary event of the NUPRC in Abuja on Tuesday.

She stated the statement followed the approval of President Bola Tinubu and the Minister of Petroleum Resources, including that the blocks would be open to financiers with the needed technical proficiency, monetary capability and dedication to establish Nigeria’s petroleum resources.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the wait is over. It is with excellent pleasure that I reveal that pursuant to the approval of His Excellency, President Bola Tinubu, and the Minister of Petroleum Resources, the Nigerian 2026 Licensing Round is thus revealed.

“This round provides 40 blocks throughout land, shallow water and deepwater surfaces. I can see my IOC is currently permuting. They are open to financiers with the technical proficiency, monetary ability and, above all, the dedication to establish Nigeria’s petroleum resources.

“We will not rest on our laurels. Competitors for upstream capital is intense, and it grows fiercer day by day. Financiers have options. They go where the guidelines are clear, where the procedure is foreseeable and where information can be relied on.”

The statement follows the NUPRC concluded the 2025 licensing round, which drew in considerable interest from regional and global oil business.

According to the NUPRC employer, 143 business sent 200 quotes in the 2025 round, with 31 business becoming winners of 37 blocks. He stated the workout likewise marked a substantial shift in financier interest beyond the conventional Niger Delta producing locations, as frontier basins consisting of the Anambra Basin, Benue Trough, Chad Basin and Benin Basin drew in financiers.

Considering That the Petroleum Industry Act entered force in 2021, the commission stated it had actually carried out 3 licensing workouts: the 2022 Deep Offshore Mini Bid Round, the 2024 Nigerian Licensing Round and the 2025 Nigerian Licensing Round, leading to the award of 57 Petroleum Prospecting Licences.

Eyesan stated the commission was identified to make the 2026 workout more transparent and foreseeable, worrying that the award of petroleum acreage must no longer be discretionary.

“Five years earlier, the Petroleum Industry Act 2021 brought to life the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission and put in our hands a spiritual trust to administer Nigeria’s petroleum resources for the advantage of all Nigerians.

“Of all the reforms the PIA brought, none speaks more to who we are than this: in Nigeria, petroleum acreage is won, not provided. It is no longer discretionary. The PIA made transparent and competitive bidding the guidelines for the award of Petroleum Prospecting Licences and Petroleum Mining Leases. Clear guidelines have actually filled in discretion. We have actually honoured that reform.”

The NUPRC employer stated the lessons from previous licensing rounds, consisting of suggestions from the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, would be integrated into the 2026 procedure.

She stated NEITI’s evaluation of the 2022– 2024 licensing rounds discovered the procedure to be typically expert, transparent and inclusive, while likewise determining locations for enhancement in assessment method, disclosure of outcomes, public access to bidding info and useful ownership disclosure.

Eyesan stated the commission had actually accepted those suggestions and would execute them in the brand-new round. “The standards will likewise set out our examination approach completely, offer fuller publication of outcomes and need disclosure of useful owners of every bidder, in keeping with NEITI’s counsel.

“In keeping with our custom, we will release the schedule at the beginning and we will keep to it. In 2025, when we released, there was a great deal of scepticism about whether we would fulfill the timeline. And we showed all our sceptics incorrect. We were right on time, not one day late.”

She stated certainty over the bidding schedule was necessary since possible financiers required adequate time to protect board approvals, mobilise funds and prepare their quotes. “Investors need to prepare. Boards should authorize. Funds should be mobilised. Each of these choices depends upon dates that hold. We will definitely hold,” she mentioned.

The commission likewise prepares to reinforce interaction with potential bidders through its licensing site and website, virtual information space, webinars and a devoted aid desk.

Eyesan stated all product explanations would be interacted to all individuals to guarantee that no bidder got a benefit over others. “And every product explanation will be shown all individuals. No bidder will understand what others do not,” she stated.

The regulator stated the 2026 round would likewise support Nigeria’s efforts to raise petroleum and condensate production and broaden gas reserves. Eyesan stated possessions provided in the previous licensing workouts, based on effective advancement, were anticipated to contribute substantially to the nation’s production target.

She stated the possessions might include about 500 million barrels of reserves and a minimum of 300,000 barrels daily of petroleum and condensate production within 5 years, explaining the anticipated additions as an essential action towards the nationwide target of 3 million barrels daily by 2030.

She included that the properties were anticipated to contribute about 20 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves and 50 million basic cubic feet of gas daily of production in assistance of the Federal Government’s “Decade of Gas” effort.

The NUPRC employer alerted effective bidders that winning a licence would come with a commitment to establish the possessions. “To those who will win, my message stays the exact same: Drill or Drop. A licence is a dedication to Nigeria, not a prize on the wall,” she stated.

Eyesan stated complete information of the blocks, certification requirements and involvement treatments would be released on the commission’s site and devoted licensing website in the coming days.

She prompted Nigerian and worldwide financiers to take part in the workout, stating the commission desired Nigeria to stay a competitive location for upstream financial investment.

“I desire Nigeria to win that contest. I desire Nigeria to stay the location of option for hydrocarbon financial investments. We will make our award processes more constant and more foreseeable and we will put extensive, present and investment-ready technical information in the hands of bidders so that they can assess with self-confidence and quote competitively.

“The Nigeria 2026 Licensing Round standards will plainly set out the eligibility requirements, quote criteria, assessment requirements and conditions of award. They will be used regularly so that every qualified financier, big or little, Nigerian or worldwide, completes on an equal opportunity.”

The licensing round is for that reason coming at a time when the Federal Government and the NUPRC are looking for to place Nigeria as a more foreseeable financial investment location, while likewise guaranteeing that freshly granted acreage equates into real expedition, advancement and production.