Nigeria has officially initiated its 2025 upstream licensing round, offering 50 oil and gas blocks to investors under the aegis of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
The block package comprises a diverse mix of terrains: 15 onshore sites, 19 shallow‑water blocks, 15 frontier‑area acreages, and one deep‑water block.
At a press briefing in Abuja, NUPRC Chief Executive Gbenga Komolafe stated that the 2025 round aims to draw approximately $10 billion in fresh upstream investment. He added that, over the next decade, the awarded blocks have the potential to add around 2 billion barrels to Nigeria’s oil reserves, with full‑scale development yielding up to 400,000 barrels per day.
In accordance with the framework set by the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021 (PIA), the licensing process will be fully digital and competitive, incorporating a two‑stage mechanism: an initial qualification round, followed by technical and commercial bidding. NUPRC also made public a dedicated portal (br2025.nuprc.gov.ng) hosting all relevant guidelines, block data, and procedural documents.
The regulator emphasised that the 2025 round is central to Nigeria’s broader upstream revitalisation strategy: restoring investor confidence, energising exploration, expanding reserves, boosting production capacity, and generating employment across host regions.
