The Federal Government has revealed that 13 oil and gas blocks offered under the 2025 Licensing Round failed to attract investors and will be returned to the licensing pool for future allocation.
The disclosure was made on Tuesday by the Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, during the 2025 Commercial Bid Conference in Abuja.
According to Eyesan, the government offered 50 oil and gas assets in the licensing round, but only 37 received bids from prospective investors.
"At the end of the exercise, we had 50 blocks on offer, but we only had representation for 37 of those 50 blocks. Thirteen of those blocks will be returning back to the basket," she said.
Despite the unsold assets, Eyesan described the exercise as encouraging, noting that the licensing round attracted substantial investor interest.
She disclosed that 143 companies submitted about 200 bids for the available blocks after progressing through the various stages of the process.
"We have a total of 143 companies showing interest for 200 bids. That, for us, was remarkable, and I must say thank you," she said.
Eyesan explained that the exercise initially drew interest from nearly 300 companies, which she described as evidence of renewed confidence in Nigeria's upstream oil and gas sector.
"When we started the journey, we got interest from almost 300 companies. I repeat, almost 300 companies. That, in my view, was an indication that the tide has turned for Nigeria," she stated.
She said the number of interested firms was reduced to 196 after the prequalification exercise before 143 companies qualified to participate in the commercial bid stage.
"From the almost 300 interests that we got, we moved to the pre-qualification stage, and that number was pruned down to 196," Eyesan added.
The 2025 Licensing Round, announced in November 2025 under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, featured 50 oil and gas blocks spread across seven sedimentary basins.
The assets comprise 16 onshore blocks in the Niger Delta, 18 shallow-water blocks, one deep offshore block, three blocks in the Benin Basin, four in the Anambra Basin, four in the Chad Basin and four in the Benue Trough.
The bid process began with the opening of the application portal on December 1, 2025, followed by a pre-bid conference in Lagos in January 2026. Registration and prequalification closed in February, while the prequalification exercise was completed in March.
The NUPRC said winning bidders would emerge through a weighted assessment of signature bonus commitments, work programmes and performance guarantees, with emphasis placed on both technical competence and financial capability.
According to the commission, the evaluation framework is designed to ensure that petroleum assets are awarded to investors capable of accelerating exploration, increasing production and supporting the long-term growth of Nigeria's upstream petroleum industry.
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