The Federal Government has opened Nigeria’s 2026 oil licensing round, offering 40 blocks across land, shallow-water and deepwater terrains to investors.
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) announced the exercise on Tuesday through its Chief Executive Officer, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, during the commission’s fifth anniversary celebration in Abuja.
Eyesan said the licensing round had received approval from President Bola Tinubu and the Minister of Petroleum Resources.
She said the blocks would be available to investors with the required technical expertise, financial capacity and commitment to develop Nigeria’s petroleum resources.
The regulator also plans to tighten transparency requirements in the new bidding process. Under the guidelines, bidders will be required to disclose their beneficial owners, while the evaluation methodology and results will be published more fully.
The commission said it would also publish the bidding timetable at the start of the process and ensure that material clarifications are communicated to all bidders to maintain a level playing field.
The announcement follows the 2025 licensing round, in which 143 companies submitted 200 bids, with 31 companies emerging winners of 37 blocks.
The NUPRC had earlier said 13 blocks from the 2025 round that failed to attract bids would return to the licensing pool.
Eyesan said the commission was committed to making Nigeria’s licensing process more predictable and competitive as the country seeks to attract more upstream investment.
She said the 2026 round would support efforts to increase crude oil and condensate production and expand gas reserves.
According to the NUPRC boss, assets from recent licensing rounds could, if successfully developed, add about 500 million barrels to reserves and at least 300,000 barrels per day of crude oil and condensate production within five years.
She added that the assets could also contribute about 20 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves and 50 million standard cubic feet of gas production per day.
Eyesan warned successful bidders that obtaining a licence would come with an obligation to develop the assets.
“Drill or Drop,” she said, stressing that a licence was a commitment to Nigeria and not simply an asset to hold.
The NUPRC said details of the 40 blocks, qualification requirements and participation procedures would be released through its licensing portal.
