The Federal Government has opened Nigeria’s 2026 oil licensing round, offering 40 blocks across land, shallow-water and deepwater terrains as the country steps up efforts to attract new capital into its upstream oil and gas industry.
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) announced the licensing round as crude oil and condensate production climbed to 1.82 million barrels per day, according to the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri.
Lokpobiri said the latest production figure represented an increase of more than 80 per cent from the level recorded when President Bola Tinubu’s administration assumed office in 2023.
The minister disclosed the figure on Tuesday in Abuja, citing production data submitted to his office on Monday. He attributed the increase partly to a sharp expansion in drilling activity, with more than 73 rigs currently active in Nigeria.
The production increase coincides with a significant expansion in upstream project approvals. NUPRC Chief Executive Officer, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, said the commission had approved 120 Field Development Plans since 2024, representing about $47.6 billion in potential capital commitments.
According to Eyesan, the approved developments are expected to add 1.74 million barrels of oil and 13.9 billion standard cubic feet of gas per day to Nigeria’s production capacity when fully developed.
NUPRC puts 40 oil blocks up for bid
Eyesan announced the 2026 licensing round during the closing ceremony of the NUPRC’s fifth anniversary celebration in Abuja.
She said the exercise had received the approval of President Bola Tinubu and the Minister of Petroleum Resources and would be open to investors with the required technical expertise, financial capacity and commitment to develop Nigeria’s petroleum resources.
“Ladies and gentlemen, the wait is over,” Eyesan said, announcing the 2026 Nigerian Licensing Round.
“This round offers 40 blocks across land, shallow water and deepwater terrains. They are open to investors with the technical competence, financial capability and, above all, the commitment to develop Nigeria’s petroleum resources.”
The regulator is positioning the new round as part of a broader effort to make Nigeria more competitive in the global market for upstream investment.
Eyesan acknowledged that competition for international oil and gas capital had intensified, with investors increasingly demanding regulatory clarity, predictable processes and reliable geological and commercial data before committing funds.
“Investors have choices. They go where the rules are clear, where the process is predictable and where data can be trusted,” she said.
Beneficial ownership disclosure tightened
The 2026 licensing round will introduce additional transparency requirements, including mandatory disclosure of the beneficial owners of all participating bidders.
NUPRC said it would also publish its evaluation methodology more comprehensively and provide fuller disclosure of the results of the bidding process.
The measures are designed to address recommendations arising from reviews of previous licensing exercises by the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI).
Eyesan said NEITI’s review of the 2022–2024 licensing rounds found the processes generally professional, transparent and inclusive, but identified areas requiring improvement.
These included the evaluation methodology, publication of results, public access to bidding information and beneficial ownership disclosure.
“The guidelines will also set out our evaluation methodology in full, provide for fuller publication of results and require disclosure of beneficial owners of every bidder, in keeping with NEITI’s counsel,” Eyesan said.
She added that the commission would publish the licensing timetable at the beginning of the process and adhere strictly to it.
According to Eyesan, predictable deadlines are critical because prospective investors need sufficient time to obtain board approvals, mobilise financing and prepare competitive bids.
2025 licensing round attracted 200 bids
The 2026 exercise follows the conclusion of the 2025 licensing round, which attracted substantial interest from both Nigerian and international oil companies.
NUPRC said 143 companies submitted 200 bids in the 2025 round, with 31 companies emerging as winners of 37 blocks.
The exercise also showed growing investor interest in frontier basins outside Nigeria’s traditional Niger Delta producing areas.
Among the areas that attracted investor interest were the Anambra Basin, Benue Trough, Chad Basin and Benin Basin.
Since the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) came into force in 2021, the NUPRC said it had conducted three licensing exercises: the 2022 Deep Offshore Mini Bid Round, the 2024 Nigerian Licensing Round and the 2025 Nigerian Licensing Round.
Together, the exercises resulted in the award of 57 Petroleum Prospecting Licences.
NUPRC: ‘Petroleum acreage is won, not given’
Eyesan said the PIA had fundamentally changed the framework for allocating petroleum acreage by replacing discretionary awards with transparent and competitive bidding.
“Petroleum acreage is won, not given,” she said, stressing that the principle was central to the commission’s mandate under the PIA.
“Clear rules have taken the place of discretion. We have honoured that reform.”
The commission plans to strengthen communication with prospective bidders through its licensing website and portal, virtual data room, webinars and a dedicated help desk.
Eyesan said all material clarifications issued during the bidding process would be communicated to every participant to prevent any bidder from receiving information unavailable to competitors.
“And every material clarification will be shared with all participants. No bidder will know what others do not,” she said.
New acreage expected to boost oil and gas output
The 2026 licensing round is also being positioned as part of Nigeria’s strategy to raise oil and gas production and expand reserves.
Eyesan said assets offered in recent licensing exercises, if successfully developed, could add approximately 500 million barrels to Nigeria’s reserves and at least 300,000 barrels per day of crude oil and condensate production within five years.
She described the potential additions as important to Nigeria’s ambition of reaching 3 million barrels per day of production by 2030.
The assets could also contribute about 20 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves and approximately 50 million standard cubic feet per day of gas production, supporting the Federal Government’s Decade of Gas initiative.
However, the regulator warned investors that securing an oil block would not be sufficient without actual development.
“To those who will win, my message remains the same: Drill or Drop. A licence is a commitment to Nigeria, not a trophy on the wall,” Eyesan said.
Nigeria seeks to convert acreage into investment
The licensing round comes as Nigeria attempts to reverse years of underinvestment in exploration and development, while competing with other oil-producing jurisdictions for increasingly mobile global upstream capital.
The NUPRC said detailed information on the 40 blocks, qualification requirements and participation procedures would be released through its website and dedicated licensing portal.
Eyesan urged Nigerian and international investors to participate, saying the commission intended to make Nigeria a more predictable destination for upstream investment.
“I want Nigeria to win that contest. I want Nigeria to remain the destination of choice for hydrocarbon investments,” she said.
The regulator said the 2026 licensing guidelines would clearly define eligibility requirements, bid parameters, evaluation criteria and conditions of award, with the rules to be applied consistently to Nigerian and international investors.
For the Federal Government, the immediate challenge will be to ensure that the award of new acreage translates into exploration wells, field development, higher reserves, increased production and additional gas supply.
The success of the 2026 licensing round will therefore depend not only on the number of investors attracted, but also on how quickly successful bidders move from acquiring acreage to committing capital and bringing disoveries into production.
