NUPRC Activates ‘Drill Or Drop’ To End Dormant Oil Licences

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has activated the “drill or drop” policy to end dormant oil licences, marking the close of an era where companies held prospecting licences without developing assets.

NUPRC chief executive, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, stated this when she received the management of the Petroleum Directorate of Sierra-Leone at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja recently.

Eyesan said one of the beauties of the PIA is Section 94 which compels operators to either commence work or relinquish the license, a provision commonly referred to as drill or drop.

She revealed that the enforcement of this provision has now attracted more serious investors in the ongoing 2025 licensing rounds which will increase Nigeria’s petroleum reserves.

The NUPRC boss added, “The PIA also opened the opportunities for small and big players because there is now a drill or drop provision in the Act. So, we have cured the problem of uncertainties.

“So, in the past we had operators who had 20-year licenses and sat on these blocks and did absolutely nothing. Now, we have moved from that era to drill or drop. So, now we have more assets in the basket which has given us the impetus to go for – if possible – annual bid rounds.”

She also expressed delight over the number of applicants in the 2025 licensing round.

Eyesan said the figure was quite impressive given that the licensing round guideline stipulates that no company – either as a single firm or as part of a consortium – can bid for more than two out of the 50 oil blocks on offer.

She stated, “For the 2025 licensing round we have 50 oil blocks on offer. And the outcome of the pre-qualification submission was a demonstration that there is indeed a very good appetite for the bid round.”

Eyesan said in order to ensure total transparency in the licensing round, the NUPRC had added an extra layer of validation by partnering with a reputable audit firm to interrogate the system and validate that the system is full proof.

“The result of that exercise will be made public just to boost investor confidence,” she stated.

In his remarks, the director-general, of the Petroleum Directorate of Sierra-Leone, Foday Mansaray, said the aim of the meeting was to understand Nigeria’s petroleum sector and use the lessons to improve his country’s own hydrocarbon sector.

Mansaray called for a stronger and more sustainable energy collaboration between Sierra Leone and Nigeria.

“We are here to collaborate with the NUPRC at a bi-lateral level and learn from Nigeria, our big brothers in the industry. We are a small country of just 8 million people but very ambitious,” he stated, while seeking the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding.