NUPRC Targets $10bn From 2025 Oil, Gas Licensing Bids

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), on Monday, said it was expecting to rake in $10 billion from the 2025 licensing bid round.

Commission’s chief executive officer, Engr. Gbenga Komolafe, broke the news during the 2025 Licensing round portal launch in Abuja.

The bid exercise was scheduled to last for six months, with effect from Monday, December 1, 2025.

He said the exercise was billed to increase the country’s crude oil production to 2 billion barrels over the next 10 years when the blocks are fully operational.

His words: “The Nigeria 2025 licensing round is therefore expected to attract about $10 billion in investment and add up to 2 billion barrels of oil output over the next 10 years, with an estimated 400,000 barrels per day of production volumes when the blocks are fully operational.”

Komolafe revealed that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu approved the listing of 50 oil and gas blocks across offshore swamp and shallow waters and, of course, offshore terrains spanning diverse terrains.

He said of the 50 blocks, 15 are onshore assets, shallow water 19, frontier 15 and one deep water asset.
According to him, the key objectives of the Nigeria 2025 licensing round are first, to grow oil and gas reserves through aggressive exploration and development efforts, like an earlier reiterated.

He added that it is intended to increase Nigeria’s production capacity and government revenue.

Komolafe also said it was to create thousands of direct and indirect jobs, from technical oilfields roles to supporting services, logistics supply chain, infrastructure, local content and local content, especially in regions where blocks are located. Expand opportunities for gas utilization and development in Nigeria in the field of energy transition.

He said the Commission understands that in today’s volatile global energy landscape, certainty and predictability have become the true currencies of investment.

The NUPRC, according to him, has therefore moved to de-risk exploration.

He said through extensive multi-client surveys, the Commission has reprocessed thousands of kilometers of 2D and 3D seismic data, producing sharper, high-resolution images of our petroleum systems and reducing the uncertainties that once ended exploration decisions.

For prospective investors, Komolafe said, this means entering a market where uncertainty is shrinking and where opportunity is backed by the richest, high-quality subsurface data available anywhere in Africa.

He added that this wealth of high-quality geophysical datasets means lower exploration risk, improved probability of discovery, faster appraisal timelines, reduced entry costs and accelerated journey from licensing to first oil and gas.

Announcing the launch of the portal, he said “Consolidating on the achievements of the 2024 licensing round, the Nigeria Offshore Petroleum Regulatory Commission is proud to formally announce the commencement of the Nigeria 2025 licensing round and the launch of the licensing round online portal br2025.nuprc.gov.ng.

“This announcement is in line with the provisions of Section 73 of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021, which prescribes a fair, transparent and competitive bidding process,” he stated.