• NUPRC offers 40 oil, opens bid portal November 20

Federal government has pledged to provide investors in the upstream petroleum industry with generous fiscal and operating incentives, assuring them that access to the country’s upstream oil and gas assets has been made easier and more regular for willing players.

The pledges came as the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) unveiled plans to offer 40 oil and gas blocks to prospective investors in its 2026 licensing round, urging delegates at the ongoing Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (ADIPEC) in the United Arab Emirates to participate in the contest.

The Commission Chief Executive (CCE), Mrs Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, declared at the event that the official bidding portal is scheduled to open on November 20, as part of measures by the government to attract fresh capital into the upstream petroleum industry.

Mrs Eyesan who spoke at a high-level roundtable session titled, “Energy Sovereignty in an Interconnected World: Aligning National Priorities, Markets and Global Security,” during the 2026 ADIPEC in Dubai assured prospective investors that Nigeria is becoming a more competitive and attractive investment destination despite uncertainties in the global energy market.

She expressed optimism that the forthcoming licensing round would attract increased participation from international oil companies and other prospective investors, citing improvements in the country’s fiscal regime, security environment and investment framework.

“We are expecting investors to turn to Nigeria. We are going into another licensing round and we will be launching our bid portal on November 20. We expect to see interested investors because the environment is a lot more competitive,” she said.

According to her, the government has introduced an attractive fiscal framework designed to lower investment barriers, improve project economics and stimulate fresh capital inflows into the upstream sector.

“We have set a very attractive fiscal framework for investors. The entire environment is a lot more secure. We have been able to manage costs with a lot of incentives for investors and we expect to see investors take up the offer when we open the portal,” she added.

The NUPRC chief executive attributed the improving investment climate to the implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021 and subsequent executive orders issued by President Bola Tinubu to address structural bottlenecks and improve the competitiveness of Nigeria’s petroleum industry.

She disclosed that between 2021 and 2026, the commission had successfully conducted at least four licensing rounds, a development she said had helped strengthen investor confidence and generate fresh commitments to the country’s oil and gas industry.

The development, she explained, represented a significant departure from the pre-PIA era, when licensing rounds were irregular and the investment environment was less attractive to prospective operators.

Beyond the country’s crude oil resources, Eyesan identified natural gas as a major investment opportunity, noting that Nigeria’s estimated 215 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of gas reserves remained significantly underexploited.

She put current daily gas production at approximately seven billion cubic feet (BCF), arguing that the disparity between the country’s enormous reserves and prevailing production levels offered substantial opportunities for investors willing to develop new fields and associated infrastructure.

She said ongoing investments in critical gas infrastructure would help unlock additional supplies, support domestic consumption and position Nigeria as a major supplier to regional and international markets.

“The stars are already aligned. For gas infrastructure, we have just completed very major projects that will unlock gas supply in the country and the sub-region,” Eyesan said.

She specifically identified the proposed Nigeria-Morocco Atlantic Gas Pipeline and the Trans-Sahara Gas Pipeline as strategic infrastructure projects capable of expanding Nigeria’s gas export capacity and connecting its resources to markets across West Africa, North Africa and Europe.

According to her, the projects would complement domestic gas infrastructure development while creating opportunities for Nigeria to strengthen its position in the increasingly competitive global gas market.

Eyesan acknowledged that competition for petroleum investment had intensified as more countries discovered and developed hydrocarbon resources, making it imperative for established producers to improve their fiscal terms, reduce operational bottlenecks and provide greater certainty for investors.

She, however, maintained that Nigeria was taking deliberate steps to address these concerns through regulatory reforms, improved security and incentives aimed at reducing the risks associated with upstream project development.

“We understand that investors will price execution risk, cost, delays and uncertainty. What we have done in Nigeria is to ensure that we guard against these risks and attract the investment required to unlock the huge resources we sit on,” she stated.

The forthcoming licensing round is expected to provide another opportunity for Nigeria to attract exploration and production investments, expand indigenous participation and accelerate the development of its hydrocarbon resources amid the Federal Government’s ambition to raise crude oil production and strengthen the country’s position in the international energy market.