Nigeria’s upcoming 2025 Licensing Round is attracting attention from major international oil companies, following positive feedback on recent regulatory reforms by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
French energy giant TotalEnergies praised the Commission for the transparency and credibility of its 2024 mini-bid round, expressing optimism about the full 2025 Licensing Round, which opens on 1 December 2025.
A delegation from TotalEnergies, led by Nicolas Terraz, President of TotalEnergies Exploration & Production, visited NUPRC headquarters in Abuja to meet Chief Executive Gbenga Komolafe. The team also included Mathieu Bouyer, Managing Director of TotalEnergies Upstream Companies in Nigeria, along with senior company executives.
During the visit, Komolafe highlighted the Commission’s efforts to create a predictable and investment-friendly regulatory environment, noting that the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) of 2021 had significantly reduced uncertainty in Nigeria’s upstream sector. He encouraged TotalEnergies to actively participate in the 2025 Licensing Round, designed to attract high-value investments and support exploration in both mature and frontier basins.
Terraz expressed confidence in the new round, stating that the strengthened governance framework and lessons from the 2024 mini-bid would benefit participants. He reaffirmed TotalEnergies’ long-term commitment to Nigeria, calling the country a strategic hub in the company’s global operations.
The 2025 Licensing Round, expected to be Nigeria’s largest since the enactment of the PIA, will offer mature, marginal, and frontier acreage for competitive bidding. NUPRC plans to introduce digital bid submissions, faster contracting cycles, clearer fiscal terms, and improved host community frameworks to minimize disputes and delays.
Analysts view this round as a critical step in Nigeria’s effort to maintain its position as Africa’s leading exploration destination amid competition from Namibia, Angola, and other emerging West African oil frontiers. TotalEnergies’ early engagement underscores renewed investor confidence in the country’s upstream regulatory landscape.
