The Federal Government has stated that companies offering the highest financial bids will not automatically secure oil blocks in the ongoing 2025 Licensing Round, emphasizing that technical expertise and operational capacity will play a decisive role in determining successful bidders.
The assurance was given by the Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, during the 2025 Commercial Bid Conference held in Abuja.
According to Eyesan, the licensing exercise is designed to ensure that oil and gas assets are awarded to companies with the technical competence and operational capability to develop them efficiently and sustainably.
She explained that, beyond financial offers, bidders are being evaluated on several criteria, including industry experience, organisational strength, credibility of proposed work programmes, resource commitment and the ability to execute projects within agreed timelines.
“The evaluation was rigorous, objective and transparent. It is not just about being the highest bidder. We want to ensure that companies have both the financial resources and the technical capability to successfully develop these assets,” she said.
Eyesan noted that the commission carefully assessed each bidder’s competence, operational capacity and execution plans to ensure the country’s petroleum resources are managed for long-term value.
She also reassured participants that the commercial bidding process remained transparent, stressing that no bidder had prior access to competing financial offers before the official opening of bids.
“Nobody has seen anybody’s commercial bids. We will demonstrate that today. Our objective is to ensure these assets are operated by credible and competent companies, not simply by those who submit the highest financial offers,” she added.
The commercial bid opening marks the final phase of the 2025 Licensing Round before successful bidders are announced.
The licensing exercise, launched on November 11, 2025, under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, offers 50 oil and gas blocks spread across seven sedimentary basins in Nigeria.
The available assets include 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 portal opened on December 1, 2025, while a pre-bid conference was held in Lagos on January 14, 2026, to guide prospective investors through the application process. Registration and prequalification submissions closed on February 27, with the qualification process completed on March 16.
Under the licensing framework, bids are assessed using a weighted evaluation system that combines technical and commercial scores, including signature bonus commitments, proposed work programmes and performance security.
The government said the approach is intended to ensure that Nigeria’s oil and gas assets are awarded to companies with the expertise, financial strength and operational capacity required to drive exploration and production in the country’s upstream petroleum sector.