NUPRC Awards 37 Oil Blocks To 31 Companies, Warns Against Delays

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission has named 31 companies as winners of 37 oil and gas blocks in the 2025 Licensing Round, moving the process from bidding into post-award obligations.

The winners have 90 days to pay signature bonuses and meet other conditions. NUPRC warned that companies that fail to do so could lose the assets to reserve bidders.

Punch reported that the commercial bid conference ended an eight-month licensing process. NUPRC chief executive Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan said members of the evaluation team faced threats and pressure before the commercial bids were opened, but insisted the process remained credible.

Vanguard reported that the assets are expected to support an additional 300,000 barrels per day of crude oil and condensate production over the next three years. The regulator also said the blocks could add about 500 million barrels to Nigeria’s reserves.

The award follows an earlier licensing update reported here, when 13 unbid blocks were returned to the licensing pool and 196 firms qualified for the bidding stage.

Eyesan said 13 blocks attracted no bids and were returned to the basket. She said some of the assets are in frontier basins and require investors with a higher appetite for risk.

Sources: Punch, Vanguard