The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission has given 31 companies that won 37 oil and gas blocks in the 2025 licensing round a 90-day window to complete their signature bonus payments or risk losing the assets.

The warning follows the provisional allocation of the blocks after the commercial bid conference held in Abuja on July 21, 2026.

According to the regulator, the successful bidders must meet all financial and post-award obligations within the period prescribed by the Petroleum Industry Act. Companies that fail to comply will lose their bid guarantees, while their provisional awards will be transferred to reserve bidders.

The 37 blocks span several oil and gas-producing and prospective areas, including the Niger Delta, shallow and deep offshore zones, as well as frontier basins such as the Anambra Basin, Chad Basin and Benue Trough.

The licensing round attracted significant interest, with 143 companies submitting about 200 bids for the available assets. However, 13 of the 50 blocks initially offered received no bids.

Under the applicable rules, signature bonuses for the successful blocks range from $3m to $7m per block. The winners are also required to pay first-year rents, provide the necessary guarantees and fulfil other conditions attached to their provisional awards.

With the provisional awards issued on July 21, the 90-day payment period is expected to expire on October 19, 2026.

NUPRC Chief Executive Officer, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, had earlier called on the successful companies to complete their financial obligations promptly and move towards developing the awarded assets.

The commission said failure to meet the requirements within the stipulated period would trigger the reassignment of the affected blocks to the next-ranked reserve bidders.