NUPRC Woos Global Investors With 40 Oil, Gas Blocks

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has launched its 2026 licensing round, offering 40 oil and gas blocks to attract fresh investment into Nigeria’s petroleum sector.

The Commission Chief Executive, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, announced the initiative at the commission’s fifth anniversary ceremony in Abuja, saying the blocks were available to qualified Nigerian and international investors with the technical expertise, financial capacity and commitment to develop the country’s petroleum resources.

The licensing round, approved by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, covers areas across land, shallow-water and deepwater terrains.

Eyesan said the commission was determined to make Nigeria a competitive destination for upstream petroleum investment by ensuring that licensing processes were transparent, predictable and guided by clear rules.

She said the guidelines for the 2026 exercise would incorporate recommendations from the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), including full disclosure of evaluation methods, wider publication of bidding results and mandatory disclosure of the beneficial owners of participating companies.

The commission is expected to publish details of the available blocks, qualification requirements and participation procedures through its official website and dedicated licensing portal.

Eyesan urged prospective investors to participate in the bidding process, stressing that successful bidders must demonstrate the capacity and willingness to develop the assets they acquire.

The new licensing round follows the conclusion of the 2025 exercise, in which 143 companies submitted 200 bids, with 31 companies emerging as winners of 37 oil and gas blocks.

The previous round also attracted interest in frontier basins, including the Anambra Basin, Benue Trough, Chad Basin and Benin Basin, expanding opportunities beyond Nigeria’s traditional producing areas.

Beyond attracting investment, the NUPRC said it was prioritising increased production by restoring more than 788,000 barrels per day of shut-in production identified across 63 operators. It also aims to advance offshore projects valued at between $30 billion and $50 billion towards final investment decisions.

The commission said predictable licensing procedures and access to reliable technical data would be critical to attracting the capital required to develop Nigeria’s petroleum resources.

The success of the 2026 round will depend on investor participation, transparent evaluation and the ability of successful bidders to translate awarded licences into exploration, development and increased production.