The Centre for Energy Policy, Research and Strategic Development (CEPRSD) has publicly commended Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, the Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), for her transparent and professional management of Nigeria's 2025 oil and gas licensing round. The commendation, issued on Sunday, highlights the successful participation of 143 companies that submitted 200 bids for 37 of the 50 oil blocks on offer, signalling robust investor confidence in the regulatory environment.
Commendation from CEPRSD
Dr Cletus Okpe, the Executive Director of CEPRSD, expressed admiration for Eyesan's leadership, describing the licensing process as transparent, structured, and professionally managed. He noted that 31 companies emerged successful for the 37 blocks, underscoring the credibility of the bidding process and the serious interest it attracted from investors.
"The participation of 143 companies, which submitted 200 bids for 37 assets, shows that investors are willing to commit resources to Nigeria when they have confidence in the rules, evaluation process and regulatory environment," Okpe said. He credited Eyesan's stewardship for maintaining a clearly defined regulatory framework throughout the commercial stage of the process.
Wide Participation Across Nigeria's Basins
The licensing round saw bids for assets spread across both established petroleum-producing areas and frontier basins, including the Benue Trough, Chad Basin, Anambra Basin, and Benin Basin. Of the 50 blocks offered, 37 attracted bids, while the remaining 13 received no offers. Okpe highlighted the interest in frontier basins as particularly encouraging, noting that it signals a diversification away from historically concentrated producing zones.
"This level of participation demonstrates that investors are willing to commit resources to Nigeria when they have confidence in the rules, evaluation process and regulatory environment," Okpe reiterated, emphasizing the positive signal for the sector's future.
Financial Discipline and the 'Drill or Drop' Principle
Okpe also praised the NUPRC's insistence on financial discipline, noting that successful bidders must meet their payment obligations before receiving final awards. He argued that this approach prevents speculative acquisition of blocks by companies lacking the means or intention to develop them.
"Financial discipline is critical to the success of any licensing exercise. It is not enough for companies to win blocks; they must demonstrate that they have the capacity and willingness to pay the required signature bonuses, execute their work programmes and move the assets towards production," Okpe stated.
The CEPRSD executive director further lauded the commission's use of the "drill or drop" principle, which he described as a tool to hold operators accountable and root out those seeking to sit on acreage without meaningful activity. He also commended the involvement of the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources, the Federal Ministry of Finance, and the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) in monitoring the commercial bid conference, emphasizing that independent oversight is essential to protecting public confidence.
Call for Post-Award Enforcement
Okpe called on Eyesan and her team to carry the same standards into the post-award phase, warning that the credibility built during the bidding exercise could only be sustained if performance obligations are enforced without compromise. "The stewardship displayed by Mrs Eyesan deserves recognition because transparency in resource allocation is inseparable from public trust," he said.
The commendation comes amid broader discussions on Nigeria's fiscal policies, with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar recently criticising the government's borrowing strategy despite what he described as a substantial windfall from higher global crude oil prices. Atiku, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate in the 2023 election, argued that the government's fiscal approach lacked transparency and accountability.
