Pertamina Eyes Nigeria’s 2026 Licensing Round as NUPRC Woos Foreign Capital

Indonesia’s state-owned oil company, Pertamina, is considering investment in Nigeria’s upstream oil and gas sector, including producing assets and projects nearing final investment decisions. The interest came as the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission opened talks with Indonesia on petroleum investments and signalled Pertamina’s interest in the upcoming 2026 licensing round.

The discussions involved NUPRC Chief Executive, Mrs Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, Indonesia’s Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Arif Oegroseno, and Pertamina’s Vice-President, Upstream Business Development, Toriq Abdat. A statement by NUPRC Head of Corporate Communications and Media, Eniola Akinkuotu, on Sunday, said the talks focused on investment opportunities in Nigeria and broader cooperation as both countries seek energy security and higher domestic oil production.

The statement read: “The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission has opened discussions with Indonesia on petroleum investments even as the Indonesian national oil company Pertamina signalled an interest in the upcoming 2026 licensing round.”

Nigeria and Indonesia share production ambitions

Nigeria is targeting 3 million barrels per day by 2030, against current output of about 1.6 million to 1.7 million barrels per day. Indonesia produces about 600,000 barrels per day and is also seeking to raise output. It has acknowledged the need to look beyond domestic fields to meet its energy needs.

Eyesan said both countries had similar priorities, especially energy security, resource utilisation and attracting investment. “We have very aggressive targets, 3 million barrels per day by 2030, and today we are at 1.6, 1.7. We are committed to the objective and the licensing round is one of the strategies we are utilising,” she said.

Pertamina wants quick-producing assets

Abdat said Pertamina had a mandate to expand internationally because of declining domestic production and the changing nature of discoveries. “We have been given a mandate to expand our business internationally; we are now in other countries outside Indonesia. In Indonesia, we are producing only around 600,000 barrels. We are working on exploration towards deepwater, but we found more gas than oil. That is why we go outside Indonesia, Malaysia, then the Middle East, Iraq and Nigeria,” he said.

He said the company is interested in assets that can deliver production relatively quickly, including existing producing fields and projects close to production. “We would like to be in projects with governments. Producing assets, or near production, or before FID. Now we are looking at how we can help you reach the 3 million, and also help us provide more energy for our own consumption,” Abdat said.

Licensing rounds as a regular pipeline

The NUPRC has positioned licensing rounds as a regular source of new acreage for investors rather than an occasional exercise. The commission said the latest round attracted about 300 companies to 50 available assets, with 196 applicants qualifying for the bidding stage. At the close of bidding, 143 companies submitted 200 bids covering 37 assets. NUPRC announced 31 successful companies for 37 oil and gas blocks, while 13 of the 50 blocks on offer received no bids.

The blocks cut across onshore, shallow-water, deep offshore and frontier basins, including the Benue Trough, Chad Basin, Anambra Basin and Benin Basin. The commission said Nigeria’s acreage administration will continue to provide predictable and periodic access to opportunities.

The Indonesian delegation also said it is exploring opportunities outside crude oil and gas. Pertamina is building a fertiliser plant to cut dependence on Middle Eastern supply and disruptions during the current global conflict. The delegation said food security relates to oil and gas because phosphate and the elements that make fertiliser matter. Nigeria is diversifying its phosphate sourcing, including a long-term transatlantic pipeline project with Morocco to serve West Africa, and has simplified fertiliser distribution rules that once ran to about 160 layers of regulation. Both sides agreed to keep the commercial and diplomatic tracks running in parallel.

For Nigeria, Pertamina’s interest could add another foreign investor to a licensing round that the NUPRC wants to use to lift output toward 3 million barrels per day by 2030. The naira and the wider economy will depend on whether such talks convert into actual upstream spending and production.