The Federal Government has announced that 13 of the 50 oil and gas blocks offered under the 2025 Licensing Round will be returned to the licensing basket after failing to attract bids from prospective investors.
The Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, disclosed this on Tuesday during an event in Abuja.
According to Eyesan, although 50 oil and gas blocks were offered in the licensing round, only 37 attracted interest from investors.
“At the end of the exercise, we had 50 blocks on offer, but we only had representation for 37 of those 50 blocks,” she said.
Despite the unsold blocks, Eyesan described the overall level of participation as encouraging, revealing that 143 companies submitted about 200 bids for the available assets.
“We have a total of 143 companies showing interest for 200 bids. That, for us, was remarkable, and I must say thank you,” Eyesan said.
The government is expected to return the 13 unbid oil and gas blocks to the licensing basket for future licensing rounds as it continues efforts to attract investment into Nigeria’s upstream petroleum sector.
