The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission has released the ground rules for its ongoing 2025 petroleum licensing round, setting signature bonuses as low as between three million and seven million dollars in a bid to lower the usual barriers to entry and align with global best practices. In a Frequently Asked Questions document released by the commission, the Gbenga Komolafe-led organization stated that the broad objectives of the exercise include growing Nigeria’s oil and gas reserves, enhancing Nigerian content development, attracting foreign direct investment, and contributing to long-term global energy sufficiency. The licensing round also seeks to boost Nigeria’s oil and gas production, expand opportunities for gas utilization, create job opportunities, and create value for the Nigerian government and investors.
Winners of the 50 Petroleum Prospecting Licences will have the right to carry away and dispose of crude oil or natural gas won or extracted during the drilling of exploration or appraisal wells as a result of production tests. While the license is for an initial duration of three years, with a possible extension of another three years for onshore and shallow waters, and five years for deep water and frontier assets, NUPRC stated that the process will be concluded within an eight-month period, beginning November 17, 2025, and ending July 17, 2026.
The commission stated that the exercise is open and non-discriminatory to both local and foreign companies. A foreign company does not need to register in Nigeria to participate in the bid, but the PPL shall only be awarded after such a company has been duly registered under the Companies and Allied Matters Act as stipulated in the PIA. The minimum financial requirement for an entity to participate in the licensing round includes average annual turnover of 100 million dollars for deep offshore blocks and 40 million dollars for onshore and shallow water blocks. No bidder, whether participating individually or as a member of any consortium, shall submit applications for more than two assets in total across all applications.
Meanwhile, the commission dismissed reports that it was withholding the Frontier Exploration Fund from Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited. Head of Media and Strategic Communication, Eniola Akinkuotu, said 185,123,333 dollars had been approved along with 14.9 billion naira, explaining that the fund is not domiciled in the commission but in an account controlled by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Source: thisdaylive.com