The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) is considering conducting oil licensing rounds twice a year as part of efforts to attract fresh investment, bring more operators into the upstream sector and significantly increase Nigeria’s crude oil production.
NUPRC Chief Executive Officer, Mrs Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, disclosed this in an interview with S&P Global, where she outlined the regulator’s plans to establish a more predictable and faster licensing cycle for oil and gas assets.
Eyesan said the commission wants licensing rounds to become regular events, with new assets taken to the market at least once a year and, where possible, twice annually.
“These will be annual, if possible, even twice-annual events. At a minimum, we’ll be going to the market on an annual basis,” she said.
According to her, the commission is also working towards shortening the licensing process, with future rounds potentially completed within six to seven months.
The proposed approach represents a major shift from Nigeria’s previous licensing pattern, when the country sometimes went between five and 10 years without conducting a bid round before the enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) in 2021.
Since the PIA came into effect, licensing activities have become more frequent. Seven blocks were offered during the 2022/2023 mini bid round, while 19 blocks were put up for auction in 2024 and 50 assets were offered in the 2025 licensing round.
Of the 50 licences offered in the most recent round, 37 were awarded, covering assets across the Niger Delta, Benin Basin, Anambra Basin and Chad Basin.
Eyesan said the awarded assets were expected to deliver about 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) of additional production within their first three years. The NUPRC is targeting between 300,000 bpd and 600,000 bpd in additional production from successive licensing rounds.
The NUPRC is already preparing for another licensing exercise, which is expected to begin by early October.
The round could include the 13 blocks that were not awarded during the previous licensing process, as well as assets located in deepwater and shallow-water areas and potentially frontier onshore basins.
However, Eyesan said the commission would be more selective about the assets it offers, stressing that only commercially viable blocks should be taken to the market.
She acknowledged that some assets included in the previous round were not sufficiently ready, describing the decision as a gamble that created challenges for the regulator.
The commission is also seeking to use the licensing rounds to develop a new generation of indigenous oil producers, particularly as several international oil companies have divested from Nigeria’s onshore and shallow-water assets.
Eyesan cited indigenous operators such as Renaissance and First E&P as examples of the type of emerging companies the regulator hopes to encourage.
To prevent companies from sitting on undeveloped oil assets, the NUPRC has also introduced stricter “drill-or-drop” provisions.
Under the 2025 licensing round, shallow-water licences were issued for three years, subject to extension, while deepwater and frontier concessions were granted for five years.
$30bn-$50bn Offshore Investment Target
Beyond licensing rounds, the NUPRC is targeting between $30 billion and $50 billion in fresh investments across 22 deepwater projects by 2030.
Eyesan said recent fiscal incentives and renewed investor interest in West Africa could help drive the investment push.
She also disclosed that the commission was considering reforms to Nigeria’s Domestic Crude Supply Obligation (DCSO) framework as the country’s refining capacity expands.
One proposal under consideration is a compliance trading platform that would allow producers supplying more crude than their domestic obligations require to trade compliance certificates with companies more focused on exports.
The mechanism, if implemented, could provide producers with greater flexibility while helping ensure that domestic refineries have access to sufficient crude feedstock.
Nigeria’s refining landscape has also changed significantly with the commencement of operations at the Dangote Refinery, which has a processing capacity of about 700,000 bpd.
Eyesan, however, said local refiners should retain the freedom to make commercial decisions about crude purchases rather than being compelled to buy Nigerian crude when cheaper alternatives are available.
Nigeria has struggled to push crude production beyond the two-million-barrels-per-day mark over the past decade, with ageing infrastructure, underinvestment, crude theft and operational challenges weighing on output.
But Eyesan expressed optimism that sustained investment, more regular licensing rounds and faster development of oil assets could significantly improve the country’s production outlook.
She said Nigeria has the potential to reach 4 million barrels per day within the next eight to 10 years, provided the necessary investments and reforms are sustained.
The ambitious target would represent a major turnaround for Africa’s largest oil producer and could significantly strengthen government revenues, energy security and the country’s position in the global petroleum market.
SOURCE: tgnews.com.ng
