Investors shun 13 oil blocks, NUPRC plans fresh bids

The Federal Government has disclosed that investors shunned 13 oil and gas blocks located mainly in Nigeria’s frontier basins during the 2025 Licensing Round, forcing the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission to return the assets to the licensing basket for further geological studies before reoffering them.

The Commission Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, said the government was not surprised by the outcome because the frontier assets had not been sufficiently de-risked to attract commercial investment.

An analysis of the event brochure showed that the assets include PPL 2A31, PPL 2A34, PPL 2A35, PPL 2A36, PPL 2A37, PPL 2A52, PPL 307, PPL 309, PPL 701, PPL 702, PPL 703, PPL 802 and PPL 803.

She, however, expressed optimism that additional geological work would improve the attractiveness of the assets before they are reintroduced in future bid rounds.

Speaking with journalists after the 2025 Commercial Bid Conference in Abuja on Tuesday, Eyesan explained that while 50 oil and gas blocks were offered during the licensing round, investors submitted bids for only 37 assets.

She said the successful assets are expected to unlock about 500 million barrels of crude oil reserves, approximately two trillion cubic feet of natural gas, and increase Nigeria’s crude production by 300,000 barrels per day, with about 100,000 barrels per day projected within the next three years.

Responding to questions on why 13 blocks failed to attract bidders, Eyesan said the affected assets were largely located in frontier basins where exploration risks remain relatively high.

She said, “When we went into the market and launched the bid, we were very transparent and open and explained that some of these assets are in frontier basins. Now what does that mean? Frontier means that they have not yet been de-risked. And so we were not surprised when we saw that some of these assets returned with no bidders.”

The NUPRC boss said the commission would now intensify exploration activities and acquire additional geological data to improve investor confidence before returning the assets to the market.

According to her, “What it therefore means is that we will go back and do some more work to de-risk these assets and bring them back to the market. I am sure from the studies that we have been doing and the work that we need to do, these assets will come up and definitely pick up.”

Eyesan stressed that the commission would continue to recycle underperforming assets in line with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act.

She explained that regular licensing rounds had become necessary because the regulator continuously recovers dormant oil blocks from operators who fail to develop them.

“The reforms in the PIA are very clear, and that is why we are in the market on a regular basis. The reason why we are in the market is because of the blocks that we have recovered from existing operators. It is a constant and continuous work that we do. We go through performance, and assets that meet the threshold are brought into the basket.”

She added, “Because it is operational and effective on an annual basis, we are sure that a lot of operators are going to sit up and work the assets. Where they fail to, as I said, we will call them back into the basket.”

According to Eyesan, the 37 successful assets have the capacity to significantly boost Nigeria’s reserves and production targets.

She said, “Like we earlier mentioned, we are expecting almost 500 million barrels from these 37 oil assets. We have very limited gas assets in this bidding round. We have basically one or two prominent gas assets, and we are looking at about two trillion cubic feet of gas coming from this bid round.”

She added that the projects would contribute substantially to Nigeria’s production growth.

“We now have these resources available to be developed. We also said in the presentation that we are expecting about 300,000 barrels of oil production per day from these assets. We are looking at 37 assets that can come into production in the next three years. At least in the next three years, we should be able to unlock about 100,000 barrels per day.”

The commission chief said the response from investors demonstrated renewed confidence in Nigeria’s upstream petroleum industry despite the absence of bids for some frontier assets.

She disclosed that nearly 300 companies initially indicated interest in the licensing exercise before the number was reduced through various evaluation stages.

According to her, “When we started the journey, we got interest from almost 300 companies. I repeat, almost 300 companies. That, in my view, was an indication that the tide has turned for Nigeria.”

She explained that 196 companies passed the prequalification stage, while 143 companies eventually submitted about 200 commercial bids.

“From the almost 300 interests that we got, we moved to the prequalification stage, and that number was pruned down to 196. We have a total of 143 companies showing interest for about 200 bids. That, for us, was remarkable.”

Eyesan dismissed suggestions that the government’s frontier basin programme was creating unrealistic expectations, insisting that the commission would only offer commercially viable assets.

She said, “Oil development is about your ability to manage your risk. As I said, we will continue to de-risk these assets and ensure that when we come to the market, these assets are viable and we have bidders pick them up.”

The NUPRC boss warned successful bidders that winning a licence should not be seen as an achievement in itself but as the beginning of a commitment to develop the assets.

She said, “To the bidders that will emerge successful today, the award should not be a trophy. It shouldn’t be just a medal of honour. We expect that you are going to work these assets.”

Invoking the “drill or drop” provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act, she warned that operators who fail to develop awarded assets within three years risk losing them.

“As enshrined in the PIA, we want you to remember the drill-or-drop provisions. If you do not do anything in three years, I’m sorry, we will come for those assets. Once you cross the line, you should immediately start work as you warranted in your technical bids.”

She added, “The commission will leave no stone unturned to ensure that you work those assets. However, if you fail to do so within three years, we will call back those assets.”

Eyesan also cautioned that emerging as the highest-ranked bidder did not automatically translate into the grant of a Petroleum Prospecting Licence. She explained that successful bidders must still satisfy several post-award obligations within 90 days.

According to her, “Today’s announcement does not by itself constitute the final grant of Petroleum Prospecting Licences. Each winning bidder must satisfy the post-bid conditions prescribed in the guidelines, including the provision of applicable guarantees, payment of signature bonus, first-year rent and execution of relevant contractual documents.”

She warned, “A winning bidder that fails to fulfil the prescribed conditions within 90 days of receiving the offer will have it invalidated. The commission may thereafter invite the reserve bidders in their order of ranking.”

The commission chief also announced that President Bola Tinubu had approved another licensing exercise for next year. She said, “His Excellency President Bola Tinubu has given the commission approval to commence the 2026 bidding round. So all hope is not lost. Lessons learnt from this exercise can be utilised in the next exercise.”

The 2025 Licensing Round was announced by the Federal Government on November 11, 2025, in accordance with the Petroleum Industry Act 2021. Fifty oil and gas blocks were offered across seven sedimentary basins, including the Niger Delta Onshore, Shallow Water, Deep Offshore, Benin Basin, Anambra Basin, Chad Basin and Benue Trough.

The bid portal opened on December 1, 2025, while a pre-bid conference was held on January 14, 2026. Registration closed on February 27, and prequalification was completed on March 16.

Unlike previous licensing rounds, where financial offers largely determined winners, the 2025 exercise adopted a weighted technical and commercial evaluation system under the Petroleum Industry Act. The framework assesses bidders based on financial capacity, technical competence, proposed work programmes and performance guarantees to ensure that awarded assets are developed promptly.

Nigeria currently holds 37.01 billion barrels of crude oil reserves and 215.19 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves. The Federal Government expects the newly awarded assets to contribute towards its target of raising crude oil production to three million barrels per day by 2030 while increasing reserves, government revenue, foreign exchange earnings and investments across the upstream petroleum sector.(Punch)