Nigeria’s latest oil licensing exercise is attracting significant investor attention, a development regulators say reflects renewed confidence in the country’s upstream petroleum sector following reforms introduced under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) disclosed that the 2025 oil bid round, which places 50 oil and gas blocks on offer, has already recorded encouraging participation at the pre-qualification stage.
Speaking while receiving a delegation from the Petroleum Directorate of Sierra Leone at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja, the Commission Chief Executive of the NUPRC, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, said the number of applications submitted demonstrates strong industry appetite despite tighter participation rules.
According to Eyesan, the regulatory framework guiding the exercise has been deliberately structured to ensure that exploration assets are awarded to companies prepared to actively develop them.
One of the key changes is a cap limiting companies to no more than two blocks, whether bidding independently or through a consortium. The restriction is designed to prevent asset hoarding and allow broader participation from investors.
The licensing round is offering opportunities across several of Nigeria’s major petroleum basins, including the Niger Delta, Anambra, Bida, Benue Trough, and Chad basins, as part of efforts to stimulate exploration activity and strengthen the country’s reserve base.
The NUPRC also introduced additional safeguards to reinforce transparency in the bidding process. An independent audit firm has been engaged to review and validate the integrity of the digital platform used for submissions.
According to Eyesan, the findings of the verification exercise will be made public to reinforce confidence in the system.
A major pillar of the current regulatory approach is the “drill or drop” provision under Section 94 of the Petroleum Industry Act, which requires operators to either commence exploration activities within a specified timeframe or relinquish their licences.
The rule addresses a longstanding industry challenge in which some companies held exploration assets for decades without developing them.
Eyesan noted that prior to the reform, operators sometimes retained prospecting licences for up to 20 years without undertaking meaningful work. The new provision, she said, has ended that practice and ensured that dormant assets are returned to the government for redistribution.
As more blocks return to the government’s portfolio, the commission now has a larger pool of assets available for future licensing exercises, creating the possibility of holding bid rounds more frequently, potentially on an annual basis.
During the Abuja meeting, Foday Mansaray, Director-General of Sierra Leone’s Petroleum Directorate, said his country’s delegation visited the NUPRC to deepen bilateral cooperation and gain insights into Nigeria’s petroleum governance framework.
Describing Nigeria as an industry leader in the region, Mansaray said Sierra Leone hopes to learn from the country’s experience as it works to develop its own hydrocarbon sector.
“We are a small country of just eight million people, but very ambitious, and we believe there is a lot we can learn from Nigeria’s experience in managing the petroleum sector,” he said.
He also proposed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between both institutions to formalise collaboration in regulatory capacity building and petroleum sector development.
As the 2025 licensing process advances toward its next stages, the level of investor engagement so far signals renewed momentum in Nigeria’s oil exploration landscape, supported by regulatory reforms designed to unlock dormant assets and encourage active development.
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