FG Returns 13 Oil Blocks To Pool As 196 Firms Qualify For Bids

Thirteen oil and gas blocks offered in Nigeria’s 2025 licensing round will return to the national licensing pool after failing to attract bids, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission has said.

NUPRC chief executive Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan announced the figures at the commercial bid conference in Abuja. She said 50 blocks were put up for offer, but only 37 drew bids from investors.

The commission said the process began with interest from nearly 300 companies before 196 firms qualified for the bidding stage. Vanguard reported that 143 companies later submitted about 200 technical and commercial bids, while Premium Times reported 140 participating companies with 196 bids.

Eyesan said the 13 unbid blocks would be returned to the basket for future licensing. She also said the assets on offer could support an additional 300,000 barrels per day of crude oil and condensate production over the next three years and add about 500 million barrels to reserves.

The government says the round is part of a wider plan to raise national oil output to three million barrels per day by 2030. Nigeria’s crude oil and condensate reserves are estimated at 37.01 billion barrels, while gas reserves stand at 215.19 trillion cubic feet.

Eyesan also said the highest financial offer would not automatically win an oil block. The regulator would weigh technical competence, operational capacity, work programme credibility, resource commitment and the ability to deliver within the proposed timeline.

Sources: Vanguard, Premium Times, Punch