Nigeria is offering 40 oil and gas blocks to investors in its 2026 licensing round, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has announced.
The blocks span land, shallow water and deepwater terrains, according to the commission’s Chief Executive Officer, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan.
Eyesan announced the commencement of the exercise on Wednesday in Abuja during the NUPRC’s 55th anniversary celebration.
She said the licensing round was launched following approvals by President Bola Tinubu and the Minister of Petroleum Resources.
“Ladies and gentlemen, the wait is over. It is with great joy that I announce that pursuant to the approval of His Excellency, President Bola Tinubu, and the Minister of Petroleum Resources, the Nigerian 2026 Licensing Round is hereby launched,” Eyesan said.
She said the blocks would be available to investors that could demonstrate the required technical competence and financial capacity, as well as a commitment to developing Nigeria’s petroleum resources.
The announcement comes shortly after the conclusion of the 2025 licensing round, which, according to the NUPRC chief, attracted substantial participation from local and international oil companies.
Eyesan said 143 companies submitted 200 bids in the 2025 exercise, with 31 companies eventually emerging as winners of 37 blocks.
She said the outcome also indicated increasing investor interest in Nigeria’s frontier basins, beyond the established oil-producing areas of the Niger Delta.
Among the areas that attracted investor attention, she said, were the Anambra Basin, Benue Trough, Chad Basin and Benin Basin.
According to Eyesan, the blocks awarded during the 2025 round could add about 500 million barrels to Nigeria’s reserves and contribute at least 300 million barrels per day of crude oil and condensates over the next five years.
She added that the awards were also expected to increase the country’s gas reserves by 20 trillion cubic feet (TCF) and support gas production of 20 billion standard cubic feet (scf) per day.
“They are also expected to add 20 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of gas reserves and 20 billion standard cubic feet (scf) of gas per day in support of our decade of gas,” she said.
Eyesan said the latest round formed part of the commission’s efforts to sustain upstream investment and expand exploration opportunities across the country.
She disclosed that the NUPRC had conducted three licensing exercises since its inception: the 2022 deep offshore mini bid round, the 2024 Nigerian licensing round and the 2025 Nigerian licensing round.
The three exercises, she said, had resulted in the award of 57 petroleum prospecting licences.
With the 2026 round, the commission is seeking to attract further investment into Nigeria’s upstream sector while opening up additional opportunities in both established and frontier oil and gas provinces.
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