Sopuruchi Onwuka

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has clarified key requirements for the ongoing 2025 oil licensing round, stressing that only bidders with strong technical and financial capacity will progress in the process.

The Commission’s Chief Executive, Mrs. Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, disclosed this during the 2025 Licensing Round pre-bid webinar held on Wednesday, January 28, 2026.

According to Eyesan, the licensing process will be conducted in five stages: registration and pre-qualification, data acquisition, technical bid submission, bid evaluation, and a commercial bid conference.

“Only candidates with strong technical and financial credentials, professionalism, and credible development plans will move forward,” she said, adding that winners would emerge through a transparent, merit-based process.

She revealed that, with the approval of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, signature bonuses for the 2025 licensing round have been structured within a defined value range to lower entry barriers for investors. Under the new framework, greater emphasis is placed on technical competence, credible work programmes, financial strength, and the ability to deliver production in the shortest possible time.

“This approach is intended to boost competitiveness and respond to capital mobility,” Eyesan noted.

Describing the exercise as an open call to serious investors, she said the Commission is seeking partners ready to commit capital, deploy technical expertise, and fast-track Nigeria’s oil and gas assets from licence award through exploration, appraisal, and full production.

Eyesan reaffirmed the NUPRC’s commitment to transparency, stating that Nigeria is ready “to be the beautiful bride to capital and a playground for advanced technological deployment for hydrocarbon recovery.”

She disclosed that the 2025 licensing round offers 50 oil and gas blocks across the country, spanning Nigeria’s major sedimentary basins and providing opportunities for long-term value creation.

The NUPRC boss assured stakeholders that the bidding process would fully comply with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), leverage digital tools for seamless data access, and remain open to public and institutional scrutiny through the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) and other oversight bodies.

“The Nigeria 2025 Licensing Round is not just a bidding exercise,” she said. “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.”

During the webinar, NUPRC subject matter experts outlined the guidelines, model contracts, bid parameters, and evaluation criteria to help investors operate within a transparent and predictable framework.

Eyesan said the Commission’s sweeping reform agenda is aimed at restoring efficiency, predictability, and sustainable growth in Nigeria’s upstream petroleum sector. Key focus areas include the commencement of a 90-day approval timeline for quick-win opportunities, the introduction of decarbonisation initiatives, and strengthened Host Communities Development Trusts (HCDTs).

She listed the Commission’s regulatory pillars as production optimisation and revenue expansion, regulatory predictability and speed, and safe, governed, and sustainable operations. These pillars, she said, are designed to support the government’s target of boosting crude oil production from the current 1.8 million barrels per day to 3.0 million barrels per day by 2030.

According to Eyesan, the NUPRC will prioritise the recovery of shut-in volumes with economic value, arrest field decline, reduce losses, and accelerate time-to-first oil without increasing regulatory burdens or transaction costs. She noted that this effort has already begun with the recent reactivation of a long shut-in asset.

At the core of the reforms, she said, is a shift in regulatory philosophy toward “running regulation like a service,” marked by transparent enforcement, faster decision-making, and clearly defined timelines.

“Going forward, the Commission will be measured on key success metrics—faster and predictable regulatory approvals; higher, secure, and sustainable production; credible licensing and disciplined acreage performance; world-class HSE and process safety outcomes; and trusted measurement, transparency, governance, and data integrity,” Eyesan stated.

To institutionalise predictability, the NUPRC will publish Service Level Agreements (SLAs) for all major regulatory approvals. Timelines to production will also be shortened through early engagement, stage-gate approval processes, and mutually agreed timelines with operators.

Operators with mature opportunities were encouraged to submit their projects by the end of the first quarter of 2026 under a simplified framework that clearly defines obligations for both operators and the regulator.

As part of its modernisation drive, the Commission will roll out a digital workflow system for permitting, reporting, and data submission, while working with industry players to identify capacity gaps and deploy targeted interventions to improve regulatory efficiency.

Internally, Eyesan disclosed that a Commission-wide transformation programme is underway through a dedicated Project Management Office, with further details to be announced.

To deepen collaboration, the NUPRC will convene a monthly CCE–Operators Leadership Forum involving all operators, including NNPC Limited, OPTS, IPPG, and emerging players. The forum will focus on approval timelines, production restoration, infrastructure integrity, and gas monetisation.

She also underscored the importance of robust hydrocarbon accounting, stressing the need to track every barrel produced and promptly address discrepancies or losses.

On host communities, Eyesan announced plans for direct engagement with community leaders to reaffirm commitments to Host Community Development Trusts, urging operators to liaise closely with the Commission ahead of the engagements.

She further disclosed that achieving 100 percent compliance with the Petroleum Industry Act within 12 months is a major priority, to be monitored by a dedicated team reporting directly to her office. The Commission, she said, will issue quarterly progress reports to track compliance and performance.

To support near-term gains, Eyesan confirmed that a 90-day fast-track programme has commenced to accelerate approvals for near-ready Field Development Plans, well interventions, rig mobilisation, and other quick-win opportunities.