Ahead Of Dec 1 Licensing Round Opening, Upstream Regulator Woos More Investors

The commission chief executive, Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Engineer Gbenga Komolafe, has promised to deliver a transparent 2025 licensing round even as he revealed that the Bid portal would go live on the NUPRC’s website on December 1, 2025.

Komolafe further stated that the licensing round will undergo two stages. First will be the technical phase and then those who scale through will progress to the commercial phase.

The NUPRC boss stated this when executives of Ludoil Energy of Italy visited the Commission’s corporate headquarters in Abuja on Thursday.

He said, “The portal for the licensing round will go live on December 1. The licensing round will be transparent and fair in line with the provisions of the PIA, 2021. We do not discriminate. We invite all potential investors to participate.

“The process will be digitised such that winners would know immediately after the exercise whether they won or not. There is no bureaucracy involved.”

Engineer Komolafe said the Petroleum Industry Act had restored confidence in Nigeria’s energy sector and provided a stable regulatory atmosphere.

The NUPRC boss therefore told the Ludoil Energy executives that this was the best time to invest in Nigeria.

He argued that with over 37 billion barrels of proven oil reserves as well as its current status as Africa’s largest crude oil producer, Nigeria remained the best place in Africa to invest.
Komolafe further noted that with a coastline of over 853km, Nigeria had a strategic advantage of its crude getting to the European market even faster than that of the United States.

The NUPRC helmsman therefore called on investors to take advantage of this opportunity.
In his remarks, the group chief technical officer, Ludoil Energy SPA, Paolo Fedeli, said the company is presently operating in the Republic of Congo but was seeking to expand its footprint in Africa, starting with Nigeria because of its potential as Africa’s largest oil producer.

Fedeli added that Ludoil Energy was keen on participating in the 2025 licensing round.

“We are seeing Nigeria as our next target for growth because Nigeria is the largest producer in Africa. Your next round of licensing is an opportunity for us,” Fedeli said.