By Obiabin Onukwugha
The Federal Government has announced the 2026 oil licensing round, offering 40 blocks across land, shallow water and deepwater terrains, as it intensifies efforts to attract fresh investment into the upstream sector.
Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC Chief Executive Officer, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, revealed this during her closing remarks at the fifth anniversary celebration of the NUPRC, which held in Abuja on Tuesday.
Eyesan said the announcement followed the approval by President Bola Tinubu and the Minister of Petroleum Resources, noting that the blocks would be open to investors with the required technical competence, financial capacity and commitment to develop Nigeria’s petroleum resources.
The Commission also said the new bidding guidelines would require the disclosure of the beneficial owners of every bidder, while the evaluation methodology and results of the exercise would be published more fully.
“Ladies and gentlemen, the wait is over. It is with great joy that I announce that pursuant to the approval of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Honourable Minister of Petroleum Resources, the Nigerian 2026 Licensing Round is hereby announced.
“This round offers 40 blocks across land, shallow water and deepwater terrains. I can see my IOC is already permutating. They are open to investors with the technical competence, financial capability and, above all, the commitment to develop Nigeria’s petroleum resources.
“We will not rest on our oars. Competition for upstream capital is fierce, and it grows fiercer by the day. Investors have choices. They go where the rules are clear, where the process is predictable and where data can be trusted,” she said.
The announcement comes after the NUPRC concluded the 2025 licensing round, which attracted significant interest from local and international oil companies.
Eyesan highlighted that 143 companies submitted 200 bids in the 2025 round, with 31 companies emerging as winners of 37 blocks, pointing out that the exercise also marked a significant shift in investor interest beyond the traditional Niger Delta producing areas, as frontier basins including the Anambra Basin, Benue Trough, Chad Basin and Benin Basin attracted investors.
She noted that since the Petroleum Industry Act came into force in 2021, the commission has conducted three licensing exercises viz, the 2022 Deep Offshore Mini Bid Round, the 2024 Nigerian Licensing Round and the 2025 Nigerian Licensing Round, resulting in the award of 57 Petroleum Prospecting Licences.
Eyesan said the commission was determined to make the 2026 exercise more transparent and predictable, stressing that the award of petroleum acreage should no longer be discretionary.
“Five years ago, the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021 gave birth to the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission and placed in our hands a sacred trust to administer Nigeria’s petroleum resources for the benefit of all Nigerians.
“In Nigeria, petroleum acreage is won, not given. It is no longer discretionary. The PIA made transparent and competitive bidding the rules for the award of Petroleum Prospecting Licences and Petroleum Mining Leases. Clear rules have taken the place of discretion. We have honoured that reform,” she said
According to Eyesan, the lessons from previous licensing rounds, including recommendations from the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), would be incorporated into the 2026 process. She also stated that NEITI’s review of the 2022–2024 licensing rounds found the process to be generally professional, transparent and inclusive, while also identifying areas for improvement in evaluation methodology, disclosure of results, public access to bidding information and beneficial ownership disclosure.
Eyesan said the commission had accepted those recommendations and would implement them in the new round.
“In keeping with our tradition, we will publish the timetable at the outset, and we will keep to it. In 2025, when we published, there was a lot of scepticism about whether we would meet the timeline. And we proved all our skeptics wrong. We were right on time, not one day late,” she said
The NUPRC Commission Chief Executive emphasised the certainty of the bidding timetable as potential investors needed sufficient time to secure board approvals, mobilise funds and prepare their bids.
“Investors must plan. Boards must approve. Funds must be mobilised. Every one of these decisions depends on dates that hold. We will certainly hold,” she said.
Eyesan said assets offered in the previous licensing exercises, subject to successful development, were expected to contribute significantly to the country’s production target.
“I want Nigeria to win that contest. I want Nigeria to remain the destination of choice for hydrocarbon investments. So, we will make our award processes more consistent and more predictable and we will put comprehensive, current and investment-ready technical data in the hands of bidders so that they can evaluate with confidence and bid competitively.
“The Nigeria 2026 Licensing Round guidelines will clearly set out the eligibility criteria, bid parameters, evaluation criteria and conditions of award. They will be applied consistently so that every eligible investor, large or small, Nigerian or international, competes on a level playing field,” she stated.
