Thirty-one companies have emerged successful bidders for 37 oil and gas blocks offered during the 2025 licensing round conducted by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
The commission announced the outcome of the exercise in a statement on Tuesday, following the conclusion of the licensing round held at the Transcorp Event Centre in Abuja.
According to the NUPRC, a total of 143 companies submitted 200 bids for 37 of the 50 oil and gas blocks put up for bidding.
The offered assets comprised 16 onshore blocks in the Niger Delta, 18 shallow water blocks in the Niger Delta, one deep offshore block, three onshore blocks in the Benin Basin, four in the Anambra Basin, four in the Chad Basin and four in the Benue Trough.
The commission said while 37 blocks attracted bids, the remaining 13 received no submissions.
It noted that the licensing round recorded unprecedented investor interest in frontier basins, including the Benue Trough, Chad Basin, Anambra Basin and Benin Basin.
According to the regulator, it is the first time frontier basins have attracted such significant participation in a Nigerian oil and gas licensing exercise.
Among the successful companies are SSonic Petroleum Limited, CFP Pipeline and Flowlines, Dutchford E&P Limited, Attabanson Global Company Limited, Rosem Energy Limited, Pivot-GIS Limited, Network E&P, Asharami, LexOil, BVOF, Gupsco Energy Limited, Saratoga, Volante, Concept-Reel Petroleum Services Limited, Clinton Oil Field and Nuway Oaklane Limited.
Others include Ramec, Italia, Blueridge E&P, Up Energies Limited, AYM Shafa, Blackrock Holdings Limited, Funtay Integrated Business Limited, Riparian Development and Production Limited, Nikstallis, Stardeep Petroleum, Dakoda & U Limited, Southborne Oil and Gas Limited, Lanaka Petroleum, Highban Resources Limited and Eyre Energy Limited.
The commission clarified that the successful firms would only receive final awards after paying the prescribed signature bonuses and obtaining the approval of the Minister of Petroleum Resources, in accordance with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.
Speaking at the event, the Commission Chief Executive of the NUPRC, Engr. Gbenga Komolafe, commended President Bola Tinubu for providing the support that enabled the commission to conduct a transparent and successful licensing process.
He congratulated the successful bidders and urged them to fulfil all post-award obligations promptly, particularly the payment of signature bonuses, to enable the timely development of the assets.
Komolafe also reminded the companies that any successful bidder that fails to meet the stipulated conditions within 90 days risks forfeiting the awarded asset under the commission’s “drill or drop” policy, which is aimed at ensuring that oil and gas assets are developed without unnecessary delays.