NUPRC: 31 Winners Start Payments For 37 Oil Blocks
By ESTHER McWILLIS-IKHIDE & NINI NDUONOFIT-AKOH
ONE month after the conclusion of Nigeria’s 2025 oil and gas licensing round, successful bidders have started paying signature bonuses for the blocks provisionally awarded to them.
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) disclosed the development on Thursday. The commission said the payment process began after it issued provisional awards to the successful companies.
The development follows the 2025 Commercial Bid Conference held in Abuja, where 31 companies emerged winners of 37 oil and gas blocks.
Payment Deadline
According to the NUPRC, the successful bidders must meet the financial obligations attached to their provisional awards before proceeding to the next stage of the licensing process.
Signature bonuses form a key part of those obligations. However, companies that fail to pay within the stipulated period could lose their bid guarantees and provisional awards.
The commission said it would offer forfeited blocks to reserve bidders where successful companies fail to meet the requirements.
The warning underscores the financial and regulatory conditions attached to the licensing exercise under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
Government Eyes Billions in Revenue
The Federal Government could earn about ₦353 billion from signature bonuses under the 2025 licensing round.
The estimate comes from the revised bonus structure adopted by the NUPRC. The commission set the applicable signature bonus at between $3 million and $7 million per block, replacing the flat $10 million fee used in the 2024 licensing round.
As a result, the new structure represents a reduction of between 30 per cent and 70 per cent compared with the previous charge.
The lower entry cost formed part of efforts to attract more investors into Nigeria’s upstream petroleum industry while maintaining the government’s revenue interests.
Strong Investor Interest
The 2025 licensing round attracted considerable interest from investors.
A total of 143 companies submitted 200 bids for 37 of the 50 blocks offered by the government. Thirteen blocks attracted no bids.
The acreage covered several petroleum basins and geological terrains. These included Niger Delta onshore and shallow-water blocks, a deep offshore block, as well as acreage in the Benin, Anambra, Chad and Benue Trough basins.
The successful awards could therefore bring new capital and operators into areas that have received limited exploration activity.
Next Stage of the Licensing Process
The payment of signature bonuses now represents an important step toward completing the awards.
The NUPRC is conducting the exercise under the PIA, which provides the regulatory framework for petroleum resource administration, investment and licensing.
For the successful companies, meeting the payment deadline will be critical to retaining their provisional awards.
For the government, the exercise offers an opportunity to attract fresh upstream investment while strengthening public revenue from Nigeria’s petroleum resources.
