The Federal Government has opened the 2026 oil licensing round, offering 40 oil blocks to investors across Nigeria’s land, shallow-water and deepwater areas.
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission announced the exercise as part of efforts to attract fresh capital into the upstream sector and increase investment in the country’s petroleum resources.
NUPRC Chief Executive Officer, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, said the licensing round had received approval from President Bola Tinubu and the Minister of Petroleum Resources.
She said applicants would be assessed based on their technical expertise, financial strength and ability to develop the assets, while the new process would require bidders to disclose their beneficial owners.
The commission also plans to provide greater access to information on the evaluation process and publish the results of the bidding exercise.
Eyesan said the move was designed to strengthen transparency and predictability in the allocation of petroleum acreage, in line with reforms introduced by the Petroleum Industry Act.
She added that lessons from previous licensing rounds and recommendations from the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative would be applied to the 2026 exercise, particularly in areas such as evaluation, disclosure and beneficial ownership.
The commission said the previous 2025 licensing round attracted 200 bids from 143 companies, with 31 companies selected for 37 blocks. Interest was recorded not only in established oil-producing areas but also in frontier basins including the Anambra, Benue, Chad and Benin basins.
Vice-President Kashim Shettima, who represented President Tinubu at the NUPRC’s fifth anniversary celebration, said the government had moved towards open and competitive processes for awarding oil assets.
He said the reforms were intended to position Nigeria as a competitive destination for long-term investment in the oil and gas industry.
Shettima also said the government was working to address challenges such as lengthy contracting procedures and high operating costs that have discouraged investment in the sector.
He stressed that companies receiving government incentives would be required to fulfil their commitments on work programmes, local content, environmental standards and host-community obligations.
