Why NUPRC is announcing the 2025 Oil and Gas Licensing Round commencing December 1

On November 11, 2025, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) announced that the 2025 Oil and Gas Licensing Round would officially kick off on December 1, 2025. This was in line with the approval by President Bola Tinubu, who doubles as the Minister of Petroleum Resources, in accordance with the PIA 2021; it plans to increase crude oil production by an additional 1 million barrels per day through the unlocking of hitherto undeveloped fallow assets and leveraging gas-rich fields, while attracting fresh investments. The round would be the follow-up exercise to the successful 2024 licensing exercise, emphasizing transparency and investor-friendly terms, with key features expected to be aligned with the energy transition objectives.

Announcement Details

This was announced by NUPRC Chief Executive Engineer Gbenga Komolafe at the commission’s “Project 1MMBOPD Additional Production Investment Forum” in London on November 11, 2025. Komolafe said: “We are announcing that we are ready, following the approval of the Minister of Petroleum Resources in line with the Petroleum Industry Act, to commence the 2025 licensing round beginning from December 1, 2025.”

The event attracted key industry players, including the CEOs of Seplat, TotalEnergies Nigeria, and ExxonMobil Nigeria, as well as representatives from banks and investment firms. This follows an earlier indication in December 2024 that a 2025 round would follow the completion of the 2024 exercise.

Objectives and Focus Areas

The 2025 Licensing Round aims at unlocking such fallow and undeveloped assets targeting the hitherto discovered but unexploited oil and gas fields, including, but not limited to, the idle blocks recovered under the “drill or drop” provisions of the PIA. Particular focus is placed on gas development as this is seen to be crucial to Nigeria’s energy transition, domestic gas supply, and the world’s increasing demand for natural gas as a bridge fuel. The round will enhance production and revenue, contributing to the government’s target of 1MMBOPD, aimed at closing the current 350,000 bpd gap to meet the 2025 budget benchmark of 2.062 million bpd at $75 per barrel. Besides, improving investor confidence will be ensured through better clarity of regulations, transparent bidding, and fiscal incentives under the PIA framework. This round supports the broader goals of sustainable development, frontier basin exploration, and countering regional competition from nations like Angola and Namibia.

Key Features and Process

The licensing round will officially commence on December 1, 2025. NUPRC will soon issue detailed guidelines on its website, www.nuprc.gov.ng, including the list of blocks to be offered, pre-qualification criteria, bid evaluation standards, application procedures and timelines, as well as digital bidding processes with encrypted systems to ensure integrity. Transparency measures are an addition to the 2024 round that introduced digital commercial bidding, live announcements, and oversight from bodies like the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI). The asset types to be offered consist of onshore, offshore, deepwater, and frontier basin blocks, while recovered idle assets are being reintegrated into the pool. As of the announcement date, specific block numbers and locations have not been made known, but emphasis has been placed on gas assets and those fields that have stalled in the past.

Background and Recent Sector Performance

Under the PIA reforms, Nigeria’s upstream sector, hitherto in dormancy, has woken up. Rig count increased from 8 in 2021 to 69, with over 40 active as of October 2025. In 2025 alone, 43-46 Field Development Plans were approved, opening up 1.7 billion barrels of oil and 7.7 trillion cubic feet of gas, backed up by over USD 20 Billion in commitments. The current production in Nigeria is averaging 1.71 million bpd, peaking at 1.83 million barrels per day. In 2024, indigenous firms won various Petroleum Prospecting Licenses from the licensing round and closed out with the Production Sharing Contracts for blocks such as PPLs 2000 and 2001. Past licensing rounds-in fact, from as far back as 2000, 2005, and 2007-have suffered considerably from lack of funding, technical problems, and regulatory bottlenecks that the PIA hopes to abolish.

Challenges and Opportunities

Funding has remained the major problem facing this sector, while NUPRC is creating avenues for meeting between operators, banks, and investors. Other opportunities lie in the shift from NNPC-dominated contract oversight to NUPRC, coupled with assurances from lawmakers-for example, House Committee Chairman Alhassan Doguwa-that the PIA will not be undermined.

The 2025 Licensing Round is part of a strategic drive to rejuvenate Nigeria’s upstream sector, make gas the priority for energy security, and achieve President Tinubu’s vision of a $1 trillion economy. Detailed guidelines would be released, and interested bidders are advised to watch out on the Commission’s website for the same. If this round is transparent, it could substantially improve production, revenues, and investor confidence in the continent’s largest oil producer.
Sources: All facts confirmed across official NUPRC statements and reputable Nigerian media outlets as of November 12, 2025. No discrepancies found in core details.