Nigeria has launched its 2026 oil and gas licensing round, putting 40 petroleum blocks across land, shallow water and deepwater terrains up for competition as the Federal Government seeks to attract fresh capital into the upstream sector. The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission announced the round through its Chief Executive, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, during the commission’s fifth anniversary in Abuja, following approvals from President Bola Tinubu and the Minister of Petroleum Resources. Eyesan said the assets would be open to investors with the technical competence, financial capacity and commitment required to develop Nigeria’s petroleum resources. “Investors have choices. They go where the rules are clear, where the process is predictable and where data can be trusted,” she said, highlighting the increasingly competitive global market for upstream investment.
The 2026 exercise comes shortly after the conclusion of Nigeria’s 2025 licensing round, in which 143 companies submitted 200 bids and 31 companies emerged as winners of 37 blocks. According to CNBC Africa, the previous exercise attracted interest beyond Nigeria’s traditional producing areas, with frontier basins including the Anambra Basin, Benue Trough, Chad Basin and Benin Basin drawing investor attention. The commission said the latest round will place greater emphasis on transparency and predictability, including mandatory disclosure of the beneficial owners of all bidders and fuller publication of the evaluation methodology and results. The measures follow recommendations from the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative after its review of previous licensing exercises, with NUPRC saying the reforms are intended to strengthen investor confidence and improve the credibility of petroleum acreage awards.
The new bidding round could become an important pipeline for Nigeria as it seeks to replenish reserves, increase crude and gas production and strengthen the economic contribution of the upstream petroleum industry. NUPRC data presented during the 2025 licensing process indicated that the assets offered then had the potential to add about 500 million barrels to Nigeria’s reserves and contribute at least 300,000 barrels per day of crude oil and condensates over the following years, alongside significant gas resources. The regulator has also emphasised that petroleum acreage must translate into actual exploration, development and production rather than speculative ownership. With international oil companies, indigenous producers and new investors now competing for another 40 blocks, the 2026 licensing round gives Nigeria another opportunity to attract long term capital, expand exploration into frontier basins and build a more predictable investment pipeline under the Petroleum Industry Act.
