The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has given the 31 companies that emerged winners of 37 oil and gas blocks in the 2025 licensing round another 60 days to pay their signature bonuses and complete other post-award requirements.
The commission disclosed this in a notice on its X handle, reminding the successful bidders that they must also provide the required guarantees and complete all necessary documentation within the stipulated period or risk losing their provisional awards to reserve bidders.
NUPRC had initially provided a 90-day window for the successful companies to fulfil the conditions. With one month already elapsed since the commercial bid conference, the winners now have 60 days remaining.
At the commercial bid conference in Abuja on July 21, NUPRC Chief Executive, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, explained that winning a bid did not automatically amount to the issuance of a licence.
She said the successful companies must provide the required guarantees, pay the signature bonus and first-year rent, and execute all contractual documents before they can formally receive a Petroleum Prospecting Licence (PPL).
Eyesan added that the process was being carried out in accordance with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, stressing that companies that fail to develop their awarded assets could face the commission’s “drill-or-drop” provision.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, also said the PIA had brought an end to discretionary allocation of oil blocks in Nigeria.
He urged the successful bidders to ensure their licences result in actual exploration, field development and production rather than being held as speculative assets.
Under the NUPRC conditions, companies that fail to pay their signature bonuses and satisfy other post-award requirements within 90 days will forfeit their bid guarantees. The affected blocks will subsequently be offered to the reserve bidders next in line.
Among the successful companies are SSonic Petroleum Limited, Asharami Deepwater Resource Limited, Gupsco Energy Limited, Blackrock Energy Holdings Limited, Star Deep Water Petroleum Limited and Concept-Real Petroleum Services Limited, which secured two blocks — PPL 2A47 and PPL 2A55.
The licensing round also covered frontier basins. Dakoda and U Limited secured PPL 308 in the Benin Basin and PPL 800 in the Benue Trough, while Nikstalis Nigeria Limited, Attabason Global Company Nigeria Limited, Southborne Oil and Gas Limited and Lanaka Petroleum Limited won onshore blocks in the Anambra Basin.
NNPC E&P Limited did not win a block but was listed as a reserve bidder for PPL 2A32 in the Niger Delta onshore area.
According to the NUPRC, the 37 awarded blocks could add about 500 million barrels to Nigeria’s crude oil reserves and raise production by at least 300,000 barrels per day within three years, supporting the Federal Government’s target of reaching three million barrels per day by 2030.
