NUPRC to host conference for 50 oil and gas blocks

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) will hold a commercial bid conference for its 2025 Licensing Round on Tuesday.

This conference will kick off the next phase in giving out 50 oil and gas blocks across the country.

The commission released a statement on Monday. Only companies that have been prequalified are invited to attend the conference at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja.

The NUPRC explained that this licensing round includes 50 oil and gas blocks in different areas. This includes 16 onshore blocks in the Niger Delta, 18 shallow water blocks, 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.

“Attendance is strictly by invitation. On offer are 50 oil and gas blocks across diverse terrains. The Niger Delta Onshore (16), Niger Delta Shallow Water (18), Niger Delta Deep Offshore (1), Benin Basin Onshore (3), Anambra Basin Onshore (4), Chad Basin Onshore (4) and Benue Trough (4),” NUPRC stated.

The commission mentioned that the commercial evaluation will look at key bid factors. These include the signature bonus, work programme commitment and performance security commitment.

All these factors will be combined into a technical and commercial score to find the successful bidders.

NUPRC highlighted that the 2025 Licensing Round was announced on 11 November 2025. This was in line with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021. The bid portal opened for registration on 1 December 2025.

A pre-bid conference took place on 14 January at Eko Hotels and Suites in Lagos. This was to help prospective bidders and other stakeholders understand the licensing guidelines.

The commission stated that registration and submission for prequalification closed on 27 February. The prequalification exercise wrapped up on 16 March.

According to the regulator, 286 companies applied for prequalification. Out of these, 196 qualified to move on to the technical and commercial bidding stage.

The NUPRC added that 143 companies submitted 200 bids and are set to take part in the commercial bid conference on Tuesday.