Nigeria’s Oil Bid-round: Only Bidders With Strong Technical, Financial Credentials To Enter Next Phase — NUPRC
By Naija Enquirer Staff
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has provided further clarification on the ongoing oil licensing round, stressing that only bidders with strong technical and financial capacity will advance to the next phase of the process.
According to the Commission’s Chief Executive, Mrs. Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, applicants seeking access to the 50 oil and gas blocks on offer must demonstrate professionalism, credible work programmes, and the ability to deliver production within the shortest possible time.
Eyesan spoke during the 2025 licensing round pre-bid webinar held on Wednesday, January 28, 2026.
“The process follows five steps: registration and pre-qualification, data acquisition, technical bid submission, evaluation, and a commercial bid conference,” she explained.
“Only candidates with strong technical and financial credentials, professionalism, and credible plans move forward. Winners are chosen through a transparent, merit-based procedure.”
She disclosed that, with the approval of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, signature bonuses for the 2025 licensing round have been structured within a flexible value range designed to reduce entry barriers and prioritise technical competence and execution capacity.
“This has been done to increase competitiveness and in response to capital mobility,” the NUPRC chief executive said.
Eyesan described the licensing round as an open call for serious investors ready to deploy capital, apply technical excellence, and fast-track Nigeria’s assets from licence award to exploration, appraisal, and full-scale production.
Reaffirming the Commission’s commitment to transparency, she said Nigeria is positioning itself as “a beautiful bride to capital and a playground for advanced technological deployment for hydrocarbon recovery.”
“In this licensing round, 50 oil and gas blocks across Nigeria are available, allowing investors to access the country’s key basins and create long-term value,” she added.
She further assured stakeholders that the entire bid process would strictly comply with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), leverage digital tools for seamless data access, and remain open to scrutiny through the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) and other oversight bodies.
“Let me emphasise that the Nigeria 2025 Licensing Round is not merely a bidding exercise. It is a clear signal of a re-imagined upstream sector, anchored in the rule of law, driven by data, aligned with global investment realities, and focused on long-term value creation,” Eyesan stated.
During the webinar, technical experts from the NUPRC outlined the bidding guidelines, model contracts, evaluation parameters, and compliance requirements, aimed at reducing uncertainty and building investor confidence in Nigeria’s upstream regulatory environment.
