NUPRC to announce winners of 50 oil and gas blocks after commercial bid conference

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) is set to hold the commercial bid conference for its 2025 Licensing Round on Tuesday, July 21, 2026, where qualified investors will compete for 50 oil and gas blocks across the country. A total of 143 companies submitted 200 bids after passing the prequalification and technical stages of the exercise.

The event will take place at the Conference Centre of Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja and is restricted to companies that successfully scaled the technical and prequalification stages. Attendance is strictly by invitation.

What blocks are on offer

The 50 blocks available include 16 onshore assets in the Niger Delta, 18 shallow-water blocks in the same region, one deep offshore block, three onshore blocks in the Benin Basin, four in the Anambra Basin, four in the Chad Basin and another four in the Benue Trough. The assets are located in both producing and frontier basins.

How winners will be selected

NUPRC said the successful bidders will emerge through a transparent assessment process that combines technical competence with commercial strength. Bids will be evaluated using key commercial indicators, including the signature bonus offered, proposed work programme commitments and the level of performance security provided. Final winners will be determined based on a weighted technical and commercial scoring system.

The licensing exercise is being conducted under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, which mandates an open, transparent and competitive process for awarding petroleum exploration and production assets.

How we got here

NUPRC launched the 2025 Licensing Round on November 11, 2025, before opening its online bid portal on December 1. The commission revealed that 286 companies initially applied for prequalification. After screening, 196 firms qualified to proceed to the technical and commercial stages. Of those, 143 eventually submitted 200 bids for the 50 blocks now on offer.

With the commercial bid conference, NUPRC will open and assess the financial offers submitted by the qualified companies to determine the successful investors. The exercise is expected to conclude one of Nigeria's most significant upstream licensing rounds in recent years.

For the naira and Nigerian businesses, a successful round means fresh capital inflows from signature bonuses and work programme commitments, which could support foreign exchange reserves and create opportunities for local service companies in the oil and gas value chain.