31 companies have emerged as successful bidders for 37 oil and gas blocks in Nigeria’s 2025 Licensing Round, marking the conclusion of a highly competitive commercial bid process conducted by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) in Abuja on Tuesday.
The commercial bid conference, held at the Transcorp Event Centre, attracted 143 participating companies, which submitted approximately 200 bids for 37 of the 50 blocks offered by the regulator.
The awarded assets span Nigeria’s major hydrocarbon provinces, including onshore, shallow water and deep offshore fields in the Niger Delta, as well as frontier acreages in the Benin, Anambra and Chad basins and the Benue Trough.
According to the NUPRC, the exercise marks the first time Nigeria’s frontier basins including the Benue Trough, Chad Basin, Anambra Basin and Benin Basin have attracted such significant investor interest during a licensing round.
Successful Companies
The successful bidders include SSonic Petroleum Limited, CFP Pipeline and Flowlines, Dutchford E&P Limited, Attabanson Global Company Limited, Rosem Energy Limited, Pivot-GIS Limited, Network E&P, Asharami, LexOil, BVOF, Gupsco Energy Limited, Saratoga, Volante, Concept-Reel Petroleum Services Limited, Clinton Oil Field, Nuway Oaklane Limited, Ramec, Italia, Blueridge E&P, Up Energies Limited, AYM Shafa, Blackrock Holdings Limited, Funtay Integrated Business Limited, Riparian Development and Production Limited, Nikstallis, Stardeep Petroleum, Dakoda & U Limited, Southborne Oil and Gas Limited, Lanaka Petroleum, Highban Resources Limited and Eyre Energy Limited.
The commission said the successful companies will only receive final awards after paying the prescribed signature bonuses and obtaining the approval of the Minister of Petroleum Resources, in accordance with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.
Speaking after the bidding exercise, NUPRC Chief Executive Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan congratulated the successful bidders and urged them to make prompt payments and commence development of the awarded assets. She warned that undeveloped assets could be withdrawn under the commission’s “drill or drop” policy, which is designed to discourage speculative acquisition of oil blocks.
The outcome of the 2025 Licensing Round is expected to support Nigeria’s efforts to attract fresh upstream investment, increase exploration activities across both mature and frontier basins, and boost future oil and gas production.
