Nigeria will officially open its 2025 Oil and Gas Licensing Round on December 1 as part of a renewed push to expand upstream production and accelerate the development of gas reserves.
The Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Gbenga Komolafe, disclosed this on Tuesday during the Commission’s Project 1MMBOPD Additional Production Investment Forum held in London.
According to a statement by the NUPRC Head of Media and Strategic Communication, Eniola Akinkuotu, the decision follows the approval of President Bola Tinubu, who also serves as Minister of Petroleum Resources, in line with the Petroleum Industry Act.
Komolafe said the new licensing round is targeted at “unlocking Nigeria’s idle and under-developed oil and gas fields, with special attention to fields that offer significant gas resources,” noting that scaling gas supply is now central to Nigeria’s industrial and energy transition agenda.
Licensing rounds are a key policy instrument used to attract local and international investment into Nigeria’s upstream sector. However, while previous rounds — notably in 2000, 2005 and 2007 — attracted strong interest, several awarded blocks failed to progress to production due to financing gaps and regulatory bottlenecks.
NUPRC officials say lessons from those experiences are being incorporated into the 2025 round, including clearer technical requirements, tighter timelines, and closer regulatory oversight of project execution.
Ahead of the launch, the Commission is expected to publish detailed guidelines specifying the blocks available, pre-qualification criteria, bid procedures and evaluation frameworks.
Oil and gas analysts say the strong emphasis on gas aligns with global energy trends and presents an opportunity for Nigeria to strengthen domestic power supply, expand industrial gas usage, and boost export revenues through LNG and pipeline gas.
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