President Bola Tinubu has authorised the commencement of the 2026 oil and gas licensing round as part of efforts to attract more investment into the sector and create additional opportunities for investors who may not secure assets in the ongoing 2025 exercise.
The initiative will mark Nigeria’s third consecutive competitive oil and gas bid round in recent years.
The development was announced separately by the Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, and the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, during the ongoing 2025 Commercial Bid Conference held on Tuesday in Abuja.
The announcement coincided with the regulator’s opening of commercial bids submitted by qualified companies vying for oil and gas assets under the 2025 Licensing Round.
Addressing investors, Eyesan urged unsuccessful bidders not to be discouraged, stressing that Nigeria’s upstream petroleum sector extends far beyond the assets currently on offer.
She disclosed that President Tinubu had already authorised the commission to begin preparations for another licensing exercise next year.
Eyesan said, “Nigeria’s upstream industry offers opportunities beyond assets being considered today. And we encourage you to remain engaged.
He said, “I am very happy that we have a third one already approved, which she has already announced. And like my colleague said, if you don’t win in this bid round, pray that you win the next bid round.”
The minister described Nigeria as one of the world’s most attractive investment destinations, citing the country’s strategic location and the changing global energy landscape.
According to him, “Nigeria, as of today, is one of the most attractive investment destinations in the world, given what has happened in the Gulf region between Iran and the U.S. And so these assets are among the most valuable assets that you can think of anywhere in the world because of Nigeria’s strategic location in the Gulf of Guinea.”
Lokpobiri also reiterated that the Petroleum Industry Act had fundamentally changed the process of allocating oil blocks by eliminating discretionary awards.
He said, “It’s also important for us to say, as CCE said, nobody knows the content of the commercial bid that you have bidded. And the PIA, I want to say, unfortunately, has prevented discretionary allocation of oil blocks.
“I wish I was a minister when the Petroleum Act was still in operation. I would have exercised my powers to discretionary allocate it to those I believe have the requisite financial and technical capacity to be able to develop these assets.”
He, however, said the current legal framework was designed to ensure that only companies capable of developing petroleum assets emerge successful.
The minister warned against speculative acquisition of oil blocks without plans for development.
He said, “I like what CCE said, that these licences that will be issued today, or that will be won today, shouldn’t be trophies as it has been in the past.
“In the past, I’ve seen people who go around all the conferences in the world wearing the nicest suits and looking for partners that never came. Partners will never come. Let the best win.”
The 2025 Licensing Round was announced by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission on November 11, 2025, in accordance with the Petroleum Industry Act 2021, with 50 oil and gas blocks offered across seven sedimentary basins.
The assets include blocks located in the Niger Delta onshore and shallow offshore, deep offshore, Benin Basin, Anambra Basin, Chad Basin and the Benue Trough.
The licensing process commenced with the launch of the bid portal in December 2025, followed by a pre-bid conference, prequalification, technical evaluation and the commercial bid conference, which precedes the announcement of successful bidders.
The planned 2026 licensing round signals the Federal Government’s intention to sustain annual bid rounds aimed at attracting fresh investment, boosting exploration activities and increasing crude oil production under the fiscal and regulatory framework established by the Petroleum Industry Act.
