TotalEnergies Shows Interest in Nigeria’s 2025 Licensing Round, Lauds Regulator

TotalEnergies has expressed strong interest in participating in Nigeria’s upcoming 2025 Upstream Licensing Round, scheduled to begin on December 1, 2025.

The company also commended the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) for its transparent and reform-driven approach during the 2024 mini-bid round.

The company gave this commendation when its delegation led by the president, TotalEnergies Exploration and Production, Nicolas Terraz, visited Gbenga Komolafe, the commission chief executive of the NUPRC.

Terraz expressed confidence that the 2025 round would benefit from the Commission’s reform-driven processes and enhanced governance framework, adding that lessons learned from the 2024 exercise will positively shape expectations for the 2025 Licensing Round.

The NUPRC head of Media and Strategic Communication, Eniola Akinkuotu, on Tuesday, stated that Terraz expressed the company’s optimism about new opportunities in Nigeria, noting that the clarity and fairness exhibited in the previous round have strengthened investor confidence.

The company, according to Terraz, maintains its long-term commitment to Nigeria’s upstream sector, as he described the country as a strategic hub in its global portfolio.

He said, “Drawing from the 2024 bid round, the 2025 edition would be positive and TotalEnergies is optimistic about the new bid round.”

In his remarks, Gbenga Komolafe stated that the Commission remains committed to ensuring a predictable regulatory environment, noting that it is not only a regulator but also a strategic business enabler, in line with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.

According to him, the era of regulatory ambiguity in Nigeria’s upstream sector is over.

“Now, in Nigeria, we have a regulator that steps in to address the issues as an enabler,” the NUPRC helmsman stated, underscoring the Commission’s investor-centric reforms and continued drive to improve operational clarity for oil and gas companies.

Komolafe also commended TotalEnergies for its recent execution of projects under the Obagi Host Communities Development Trust (HCDT), describing the development as a demonstration of the company’s commitment to community development and the spirit of the PIA’s host community provisions.

He further used the opportunity to encourage the operator to actively participate in the upcoming 2025 Licensing Round, which the Commission has positioned to attract high-value investments, new entrants, and increased exploration activity across frontier and mature terrains.

The NUPRC had announced the 2025 bid round last week, stating that it was in line with the Petroleum Industry Act, and follows the approval of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who doubles as the Minister of Petroleum Resources.