Abuja — A total of 143 companies have qualified for the final commercial bidding stage of Nigeria’s 2025 Petroleum Licensing Round, setting the stage for intense competition over 50 oil and gas blocks across the country’s key hydrocarbon basins.
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) announced that the successful prequalified firms will participate in the Commercial Bid Conference scheduled for Tuesday at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja. Participation is by strict invitation only, limited to companies that cleared the rigorous technical and financial screening process.
The 50 blocks on offer include 16 Niger Delta Onshore, 18 Niger Delta Shallow Water, one Niger Delta Deep Offshore, three Benin Basin Onshore, four Anambra Basin Onshore, four Chad Basin Onshore, and four Benue Trough blocks.
Bids will be assessed on a weighted combination of commercial and technical criteria, including signature bonuses, work programme commitments, and performance security. The highest overall scores will determine the winning bidders.
The licensing round, launched in line with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, has drawn significant interest from investors. The bid portal opened on December 1, 2025, following the official announcement on November 11, 2025. A pre-bid conference was held on January 14, 2026, in Lagos to guide prospective participants.
Out of 286 companies that initially applied for prequalification, 196 advanced to the technical and commercial phase. Ultimately, 143 companies submitted a total of 200 bids, qualifying them for the final conference. Registration for prequalification closed on February 27, 2026, with evaluation completed by March 16, 2026.
NUPRC described the exercise as a key component of ongoing efforts to attract fresh investment into Nigeria’s upstream petroleum sector, accelerate exploration, and unlock the nation’s substantial hydrocarbon resources in alignment with the objectives of the PIA.
The outcome of the Commercial Bid Conference is expected to pave the way for the formal announcement of successful bidders in the coming weeks.
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