The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has announced the successful bidders in the 2025 oil and gas licensing round, with 31 companies emerging winners of 37 oil and gas blocks after a fiercely contested bidding process.
The commission disclosed the outcome in a statement issued on Tuesday following the conclusion of the licensing round held at the Transcorp Event Centre in Abuja.
According to the NUPRC, the exercise attracted strong investor participation, with 143 companies submitting 200 bids for 37 of the 50 oil and gas blocks offered by the Federal Government.
“After a keenly contested bidding process, 31 companies have emerged winners of 37 oil and gas blocks at the 2025 Licensing Round which held at the Transcorp Event Center in Abuja on July 21, 2026.
“A total of 143 companies had submitted 200 bids for 37 out of the 50 oil and gas blocks originally put on offer.
“These blocks were drawn from diverse terrains including 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).”
The commission said while 37 blocks attracted bids, 13 blocks received no offers, adding that the successful bids cut across both traditional hydrocarbon-producing areas and frontier basins.
It described the outcome as a landmark development for Nigeria’s energy industry, noting that frontier basins attracted unprecedented investor interest.
“This is the first time in Nigeria’s energy history that frontier basins would attract such level of investor interest,” the commission stated.
Among the successful bidders are SSonic Petroleum Limited, CFP Pipeline and Flowlines, Dutchford E&P Limited, Attabanson Global Company Limited, Rosem Energy Limited, Pivot-GIS Limited, Network E&P, Asharami, LexOil, BVOF, Gupsco Energy Limited, Saratoga, Volante, Concept-Reel Petroleum Services Limited, Clinton Oil Field, Nuway Oaklane Limited, Ramec, Italia, Blueridge E&P, Up Energies Limited, AYM Shafa, Blackrock Holdings Limited, Funtay Integrated Business Limited, Riparian Development and Production Limited, Nikstallis, Stardeep Petroleum, Dakoda & U Limited, Southborne Oil and Gas Limited, Lanaka Petroleum, Highban Resources Limited and Eyre Energy Limited.
The commission explained that some companies secured multiple oil blocks during the exercise.
However, NUPRC stressed that the successful bidders would only receive their final awards after fulfilling all statutory requirements, including payment of the applicable signature bonuses and obtaining the approval of the Minister of Petroleum Resources in accordance with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), 2021.
The commission also warned that failure to meet the stipulated conditions within the prescribed timeframe would lead to forfeiture of the awarded assets.
Congratulating the successful firms, NUPRC Chief Executive Officer, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for providing the support that enabled the commission to conduct a transparent and seamless licensing round.
She urged the winning companies to promptly pay their signature bonuses and commence exploration and development activities, warning that any company that failed to comply within 90 days would lose its award under the commission’s “drill or drop” policy.
The 2025 licensing round is expected to boost investment in Nigeria’s upstream petroleum sector, deepen exploration activities across both mature producing fields and frontier basins, and support efforts to increase the country’s crude oil and gas reserves.
