The federal government has announced a reduction in entry costs for the latest oil bid rounds as part of efforts to improve transparency, raise production levels, and draw fresh investment into the sector.
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), during a presentation to prospective investors at the 2025 licensing round pre-bid webinar on Wednesday, disclosed that the signature bonus for the round has been lowered to between $3 million and $7 million.
This represents a sharp decline from the $10 million required in 2024 and is far below the roughly $200 million charged in earlier years.
The commission outlined the structure, assessment criteria, and commercial terms guiding the bidding exercise.
A total of 50 oil and gas blocks — comprising 15 onshore assets, 19 shallow-water blocks, 15 frontier basin assets, and one deepwater block — are on offer in the delayed 2025 licensing round.
The round is expected to support plans to raise crude oil production to 2.7 million barrels per day by 2027, from the current level of about 1.5 million bpd, while also boosting government revenue, reserves, and investment inflows.
At the pre-bidding conference in Lagos on Wednesday, January 14, 2026, NUPRC chief executive officer, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, said the revised structure was designed to prioritise technical competence, credible work programmes, strong financial capacity, and faster delivery of production.
Chevron confirmed in December that it would take part in the bidding process, while TotalEnergies has also indicated interest.
Eyesan assured investors that the 2025 licensing round — the first under her leadership since her appointment in December — would operate within a stable and predictable regulatory environment.
“You are not navigating uncertainty, you are operating with a framework that is transparent, predictable, and deliberately designed to inspire confidence,” she said.
To strengthen transparency, the commission said the licensing exercise would be monitored by the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) and other relevant government agencies.
The NUPRC added that the entire licensing process would be fully digitised, allowing investors to access data and submit bids through an online portal.
Eyesan described the round as a strategic intervention aimed at expanding reserves, increasing output, and reinforcing Nigeria’s energy security amid changing global energy dynamics.
“This upstream sector is serious business. It is for long-term investment, and it is an open invitation to partnership, transparency, and shared responsibility as we work together to shape the next phase of Nigeria’s upstream oil and gas industry,” she said.
According to her, the commission has adopted a strictly merit-based selection approach that places technical strength and financial capacity at the core of the process.
“Only candidates with strong technical and financial credentials, professionalism, and credible plans will move forward. Winners will be chosen through a transparent, merit-based process that takes you from award to exploration, appraisal, and ultimately full production.
“In this licensing round, 50 oil and gas blocks across Nigeria are available, allowing investors to access the country’s key basins and create long-term value,” she added.
Eyesan noted that the revised structure shifts focus away from aggressive cash bids and places greater emphasis on technical delivery and speed to production, as Nigeria competes for global capital in a tightening energy market.
“With the approval of His Excellency, President Bola Tinubu, signature bonuses for the 2025 licensing round are now set within a value range of $3m–$7m that reduces entry barriers and places greater weight on what truly matters, technical capability, credible work programmes, financial strength, and the ability to deliver production within the shortest possible time,” she said.
According to her, the decision reflects global capital mobility and Nigeria’s need to remain competitive in attracting serious, long-term upstream investors.
“This has been done deliberately to increase competitiveness and in response to capital mobility. The upstream sector is serious business. It is for long-term investment, and it is an open invitation to partnership, transparency, and shared responsibility,” Eyesan stated.
She explained that the licensing round will follow a five-stage process involving registration and pre-qualification, data acquisition, technical bid submission, evaluation, and a commercial bid conference.
Eyesan stressed that the exercise would strictly comply with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, with digital tools deployed to promote transparency and public accountability.
“Let me emphasise clearly that the bid process will comply with the Petroleum Industry Act, promote the use of digital tools for smooth data access and remain open to public and institutional scrutiny through NEITI and other oversight agencies,” she said.
She added that all licensing materials have been available on the commission’s portal since December 1, 2025, with dedicated support channels in place to address investor enquiries promptly.
The NUPRC boss reiterated that the 2025 licensing round signals a restructured upstream sector focused on long-term value creation.
“Let me emphasise clearly that the Nigeria 2025 Licensing Round is not merely a bidding exercise. It is a clear signal of a re-imagined upstream sector, anchored on the rule of law, driven by data, aligned with global investment realities, and focused on long-term value creation,” Eyesan said.
In a technical briefing, Amber Ndoma-Egba, director of lease administration, exploration, and acreage management at NUPRC, said the round covers assets in the Chad Basin, Benue Trough, Anambra Basin, Bida Basin, and the Niger Delta Basin.
He explained that technical evaluations would assess subsurface understanding, exploration programmes, development concepts, sustainability plans, host community initiatives, and lifecycle management.
“We look at your understanding of the block, your subsurface evaluation, your exploration work programme, your development and production concept, sustainability, decarbonisation objectives, and host community development. Technically weak firms will not scale through this process,” he said.
Ndoma-Egba also disclosed that the commission approved a minimum work performance security of one per cent to encourage investment, with bidders allowed to increase it voluntarily to enhance their technical scores.
“The Commission Chief Executive, in the spirit of enablement and support for investment, has approved that the minimum work performance security should be one per cent. However, bidders may boost this if they want a higher weighting in their score,” he said.
He added that bidders must clearly outline their exploration plans within the initial exploration period — three years for onshore blocks and five years for deepwater and frontier assets.
Ndoma-Egba confirmed that final winners would be selected based on a weighted combination of technical and commercial scores, in line with the Petroleum Industry Act.
The NUPRC had earlier announced the formal launch of the 2025 petroleum licensing round on December 1, 2025, with a target of attracting about $10 billion in new investments.