FEATURE: Why Investors Must Seize Opportunity In Nigeria’s 2025 Licencing Round
By Sunday Etuka
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), under the able leadership of Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan has been working assiduously to unlock the nation’s Vast Hydrocarbon Deposits scattered across the country.
Nigeria has the highest hydrocarbon reserves in Africa, and amongst the largest in the world. Making it an attractive destination for both domestic and foreign investors.
Investing in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector offers significant high-return potential, long-term portfolio diversification, and attractive dividend income from established industry players.
Potential investors will benefit from government huge incentives aimed at boosting production and enhancing infrastructure. With the new reforms in the sector, investors or potential oil and gas companies can divest at will following a guided framework.
Data by the NUPRC shows that Nigeria has a significant proven oil reserves of around 37.28 billion barrels, and vast natural gas reserves estimated at 210.54 trillion cubic feet (Tscf).
However, despite this potential, these natural resources remain largely untapped, thereby preventing the revenue that should have been properly channeled to executing developmental projects and financing the national budget.
Determined to boost crude oil reserves and ramp up oil production, the NUPRC has put up about 50 oil and gas blocks across frontier, onshore, shallow water, and deepwater terrains on offer to both domestic and foreign investors who have the capacity and financial muscle to manage and explore them.
The commission recently pledged its unwavering commitment to a transparent bid process, one that will be at par with what is obtainable globally.
In 2024, the commission was applauded for spearheading a bid process that was adjudged as one of the best in the world.
The then Commission Chief Executive, Engr. Gbenga Komolafe announced to both the domestic and foreign investors that Nigeria was ready for business. He wasted no time in telling them the benefits that await them if they seize the opportunity in the nation’s industry.
As a way of deepening the campaign that Nigeria was actually ready for business, the Commission under his leadership took the roadshow to the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States just to lobby more investors.
During the roadshow, he told the investors that an investment-friendly environment has been created by the administration of President Bola Tinubu and that the long-awaited ease of doing business was being implemented across sectors of the nation’s economy.
On December 1, 2025, the NUPRC unveiled the 2025 Licensing Round with a mouthwatering offer for the investors, recommitting to a transparent process.
The Commission assured that efforts would be made to address the identified challenges around the bidding process, noting that President Bola Tinubu, has created the needed environment to attract more investors and investments into the oil and gas sector.
The present administration had set an ambitious target to ramp up crude oil production to about 2million barrels per day by the end of this year and 2.5 million barrels per day by the year 2030.
To achieve this, most of the dormant oil wells must be resold and revived. This could only be done through a transparent bid process.
At a Pre-Bid Webinar organised in Abuja by the Commission to provide authoritative guidance for companies and investors seeking to participate in Nigeria’s 2025 Licensing Round, Mrs. Eyesan reaffirmed the Commission’s unwavering commitment to a transparent process for the 2025 Oil Bid Round.
She explained that the process was not only about offering an acreage, but an opportunity to participate in a stable, rules-based system that is opening the door to genuine value creation.
The CCE noted that the Licensing Round was an open call for committed partners, those ready to invest, bring technology and accelerate Nigeria’s assets from licence award to exploration, appraisal and ultimately, full production.
While affirming that the process follows five steps: Registration, Pre-qualification, Data acquisition, Technical bid submission, and Evaluation and Commercial Bid Conference, the NUPRC boss announced that only candidates with high technical and financial credentials, professionalism, and credible plans would move forward.
According to her, winners are chosen through a transparent merit-based process. Adding that with the approval of His Excellency, President Bola Tinubu, signature bonuses for 2025 Bid Round are now set within a value-range that reduces entry barriers and places greater weight on what truly matters.
These, according to her include, technical capabilities, credible programme, financial strength and ability to deliver production within the shortest possible time.
“This has been done to increase competitiveness and a response to capital mobility,” she added.
The NUPRC boss also submitted that the bid process would comply with the PIA 2021, and remain open to public scrutiny.
She reiterated that the Nigerian 2025 Licensing Round is not merely a bidding exercise, but a clear signal of a reimagined Upstream Sector anchored on the rule of law, driven by data, aligned with global investment realities, and focused on long term value creation.
At the Pre-Conference Opening of the 2026 Nigeria International Energy Summit (NIES) held in Abuja, Eyesan to both foreign and domestic investors that despite holding about 210 TCF of proven gas reserves, many gas fields remain stranded or undeveloped in the country with an estimated over 600 TCF in upside potential yet to be fully unlocked.
She revealed that under the official direction of His Excellency, President Bola Tinubu, the country is deliberately creating a physically attractive, cost-competitive, and business-friendly environment to unlock Nigerian fast gas reserve, to power homes, industry, and regional growth, positioning gas as a transition fuel.
According to her, the Commission’s mission is clear. To expand reserves, optimize production, and responsibly increase output, ensuring that Nigerian energy development drives economic prosperity, safeguards the environment, and sets the benchmark for the continent’s energy future.
Already, the bid round has attracted interests from some oil and gas giants in the country.
In December, the Chairman and Managing Director of Chevron Nigeria/Mid-Africa Business Unit, Jim Swartz, while announcing the company’s readiness to participate in the bid round, commended the regulator for the transparent conduct of the previous bid rounds in the country, especially the 2024 exercise.
Mr. Swartz described the passage of the Petroleum Industry Act as a watershed moment in Nigeria’s economic history, noting that the PIA – coupled with the style of the NUPRC’s enforcement – had restored predictability and made Nigeria an investment destination once more.
In November 2025, the President of TotalEnergies Exploration and Production, Mr. Nicolas Terraz, applauded the NUPRC for delivering a transparent 2024 mini-bid round.
Convinced by the transparent conduct of the previous bid rounds, the Company indicated strong interest to participate in the 2025 Licensing Round scheduled.
He expressed confidence that the 2025 round would benefit from the Commission’s reform-driven processes and enhanced governance framework.
Mr. Terraz said the company remains optimistic about new opportunities in Nigeria, noting that the clarity and fairness exhibited in the previous round have strengthened investor confidence.
He added that lessons learned from the 2024 exercise will positively shape expectations for the 2025 Licensing Round.
Eyesan, while assuming office in December 2025, pledged to advance the country’s upstream oil and gas sector in line with the mandate of the Commission as enshrined in the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.
She announced her vision to make the Commission a business enabler and reignite investments in the upstream sector, setting a firm production ambition of growing Nigeria’s output and increasing gas production.
The Commission boss who has served for over three decades in the oil and gas sector, promised to entrench digitisation, transparency and efficiency in operations.
