Thirty one companies have emerged as successful bidders in Nigeria’s 2025 oil and gas licensing round after a highly competitive commercial bid exercise held in Abuja.
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission announced the outcome on Tuesday, revealing that 37 oil and gas blocks were awarded following an exercise that attracted 200 bids from 143 companies. Although 50 blocks were initially offered, 13 received no bids.
The awarded assets span several producing and frontier locations across the country, including 16 onshore blocks in the Niger Delta, 18 shallow water blocks in the Niger Delta, one deep offshore block, three onshore blocks in the Benin Basin, four in the Anambra Basin, four in the Chad Basin and another four in the Benue Trough.
One of the major highlights of the licensing round was the strong level of investor interest shown in Nigeria’s frontier basins. For the first time, the Benue Trough, Chad Basin, Anambra Basin and Benin Basin attracted significant participation from investors, marking an important milestone for the country’s energy sector.
Among the successful companies are SSonic Petroleum Limited, CFP Pipeline and Flowlines, Dutchford E and P Limited, Attabanson Global Company Limited, which secured two blocks, Rosem Energy Limited, Pivot GIS Limited, Network E and P, Asharami, LexOil, BVOF, Gupsco Energy Limited, which also won two blocks, Saratoga, Volante, Concept Reel Petroleum Services Limited with two blocks, Clinton Oil Field with two blocks, Nuway Oaklane Limited, Ramec, Italia, Blueridge E and P, Up Energies Limited, AYM Shafa, Blackrock Holdings Limited, Funtay Integrated Business Limited, Riparian Development and Production Limited, Nikstallis with two blocks, Stardeep Petroleum, Dakoda and U Limited with two blocks, Southborne Oil and Gas Limited, Lanaka Petroleum, Highban Resources Limited and Eyre Energy Limited.
Speaking after the announcement, NUPRC Chief Executive Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan said the successful bidders would receive their final awards after paying the required signature bonuses and obtaining approval from the Minister of Petroleum Resources in accordance with the Petroleum Industry Act 2021.
Eyesan commended President Bola Tinubu for his support in ensuring the successful conduct of the licensing round. She also congratulated the winning companies and urged them to complete their financial obligations without delay so that development of the awarded assets can begin promptly.
She warned that any company that fails to meet the required conditions could lose its allocation under the commission’s drill or drop policy, which allows the regulator to revoke blocks that are not developed within the expected timeframe.
The commercial bid process was conducted under the supervision of representatives from the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources, the Federal Ministry of Finance, the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative and other relevant stakeholders to ensure transparency and compliance with existing regulations.
