The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) says 31 companies have emerged winners of 37 oil and gas blocks at the 2025 licensing round.
In a statement on Tuesday, the commission said the winners emerged at the round held in Abuja.
“After a keenly contested bidding process, 31 companies have emerged winners of 37 oil and gas blocks at the 2025 Licensing Round which held at the Transcorp Event Center in Abuja on July 21, 2026,” the statement reads.
“A total of 143 companies had submitted 200 bids for 37 out of the 50 oil and gas blocks originally put on offer.
“These blocks were drawn from diverse terrains including the Niger Delta Onshore (16), Niger Delta Shallow Water (18), Niger Delta Deep Offshore (1), Benin Basin Onshore (3), Anambra Basin Onshore (4), Chad Basin Onshore (4) and Benue Trough (4).”
The commission said 37 of the 50 oil blocks on offer received bids, while the remaining 13 attracted none.
NUPRC said the 37 blocks that received bids were spread across all terrains, including frontier basins such as the Benue Trough, Chad Basin, Anambra Basin, and Benin Basin.
“This is the first time in Nigeria’s energy history that frontier basins would attract such level of investor interest,” the commission said.
“The companies that emerged winners of the 2025 Licensing Round include: SSonic Petroleum Limited (PPL 2A29), CFP Pipeline and Flowlines (2A30), Dutchford E&P Limited (2A32), Attabanson Global Company Limited (2A33 and PPL 901), Rosem Energy Limited (2A38), Pivot-GIS Limited (2A39), Network E&P (2A40), Asharami (2A41), LexOil (2A42), BVOF (2A43), Gupsco Energy Limited (2A44 and 2A51), Saratoga (2A45), Volante (2A46), Concept-Reel Petroleum Services Limited (2A47 and 2A55), Clinton Oil Field (2A48 and 2A62) and Nuway Oaklane Limited (2A49).
“Others are Ramec (2A50), Italia (2A53), Blueridge E&P (2A54), Up Energies Limited (2A56), AYM Shafa (2A57), Blackrock Holdings Limited (2A58), Funtay Integrated Business Limited (2A59), Riparian Development and Production Limited (2A60), Nikstallis (2A61 and PPL 900), Stardeep Petroleum (PPL 2010), Dakoda & U Limited (PPL308 and PPL 800), Southborne Oil and Gas Limited (PPL 902), Lanaka Petroleum (PPL 903) Highban Resources Limited (PPL 700), Eyre Energy Limited (PPL 801).”
NUPRC said the firms will only be presented final awards after the payment of the appropriate signature bonus and the approval of the minister of petroleum resources in line with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.
In her remarks, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, the chief executive officer (CEO) of the NUPRC, thanked President Bola Tinubu for supporting the commission to deliver a seamless licensing round.
Congratulating the winners, Eyesan urged them to pay their signature bonuses without delay and commence asset development, noting that failure to do so could lead to the loss of the assets under the commission’s “drill or drop” provision.
Eyesan had said any successful bidder in the licensing round that failed to fulfill the stipulated conditions within 90 days would lose the award.
