Nigeria Awards 37 Oil And Gas Blocks To 31 Companies In 2025 Licensing Round

Nigeria’s upstream oil regulator said on Tuesday that 31 companies had emerged winners of 37 oil and gas blocks in the country’s 2025 licensing round, following a competitive bidding process.

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) said 143 companies submitted 200 bids for 37 of the 50 blocks offered in the round, which was held in Abuja on July 21.

The awarded blocks are located across several oil and gas regions, including the Niger Delta onshore and shallow waters, the Niger Delta deep offshore, as well as frontier basins such as the Benin, Anambra, Chad and Benue basins.

The regulator said 16 blocks were located in the Niger Delta onshore, 18 in shallow waters, one in deep offshore, while the remaining blocks were spread across the frontier basins.

“After a keenly contested bidding process, 31 companies have emerged winners of 37 oil and gas blocks,” the commission said in a statement.

NUPRC said the level of investor interest in frontier basins marked a first for Nigeria’s energy sector, with previously less-developed areas attracting significant participation.

Among the successful bidders were SSonic Petroleum Limited, CFP Pipeline and Flowlines, Dutchford E&P Limited, Rosem Energy Limited, Pivot-GIS Limited, Network E&P, Asharami, LexOil, Gupsco Energy Limited, Concept-Reel Petroleum Services Limited and Clinton Oil Field.

Other winners included Nikstallis, Stardeep Petroleum, Dakoda & U Limited, Southborne Oil and Gas Limited, Lanaka Petroleum, Highban Resources Limited and Eyre Energy Limited.

The commission said the successful bidders would only receive final awards after paying the required signature bonuses and obtaining approval from the petroleum minister in line with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.

NUPRC Chief Executive Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan urged the winning companies to complete the required payments promptly and begin developing the assets, warning that failure to meet stipulated conditions within 90 days could result in the loss of the awards under the regulator’s “drill or drop” policy.

The licensing round is part of Nigeria’s efforts to attract investment into its oil and gas sector and expand exploration activity, particularly in frontier basins.