The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has commenced the commercial bid phase of its 2025 Oil and Gas Licensing Round, with 143 qualified companies submitting 200 bids for 50 oil and gas blocks across Nigeria's producing and frontier basins. The event took place on Tuesday, July 21, 2026, at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja, marking a critical step in the federal government's push to attract fresh investment into the country's upstream sector.
NUPRC Opens Commercial Bid Conference
The commercial bid conference was held at the Conference Centre of Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja, with attendance strictly by invitation. Only companies that successfully cleared a rigorous prequalification exercise received formal invitations. Eniola Akinkuotu, NUPRC's Head of Media and Corporate Communications, confirmed in a statement that all qualifying firms had been notified ahead of the conference.
"These companies, which scaled through the transparent and rigorous process, have been notified and are expected to physically attend the Commercial Bid Conference taking place at the Conference Centre, Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja. Attendance is strictly by invitation," the statement read.
143 Firms Battle for 50 Oil Blocks
The 50 blocks on offer span several basins across Nigeria: 16 onshore blocks in the Niger Delta, 18 Niger Delta shallow water blocks, one Niger Delta 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. According to NUPRC, 286 companies initially applied for prequalification. Of those, 196 progressed to the technical and commercial bidding stage, and 143 ultimately submitted bids. The 143 firms filed a combined 200 bids for the 50 blocks, indicating that several companies are pursuing more than one asset simultaneously.
How NUPRC Will Pick Winners
The commission stated that successful bidders will be determined through a weighted scoring system that draws on both technical and commercial criteria. Evaluators will consider proposed signature bonuses, the scale of work programme commitments, and performance security arrangements when computing each company's final score. The licensing round has been under way since November 11, 2025, when NUPRC formally announced the bid round. The bid portal went live on December 1, 2025, and a pre-bid conference followed on January 14, 2026, at Eko Hotels and Suites in Lagos, where prospective investors were briefed on guidelines and evaluation procedures. Prequalification document submissions closed on February 27, 2026, and the prequalification results were released on March 16.
Broader Federal Government Push
The commission said the exercise is part of a broader federal government push to draw fresh investment into Nigeria's upstream oil and gas sector, widen exploration across frontier basins, grow crude oil and gas output, raise government revenue, and build out domestic refining capacity. Earlier, Legit.ng reported that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) increased the official selling prices (OSPs) of its crude oil grades for May-loading cargoes by as much as $7 per barrel, while also raising petrol pump prices across key cities, including Lagos and Abuja. The latest adjustment comes as global crude oil markets react sharply to rising geopolitical tensions between the United States and Iran, pushing international oil benchmarks to fresh highs and creating new pressure across Nigeria's downstream petroleum sector.
