By Joy Onu
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) will on Tuesday, July 21, convene the Commercial Bid Conference for qualified companies participating in the 2025 Licensing Round, as the 2025 Licensing Round moves into the commercial bidding stage.
The commission, in a statement issued on Monday by its Head of Media and Corporate Communications, Eniola Akinkuotu, said the conference will be held at the Conference Centre of the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja, with attendance restricted to companies that successfully scaled the prequalification stage.
The 50 blocks on offer are spread across several hydrocarbon basins, including 16 onshore blocks in the Niger Delta, 18 shallow water blocks in the Niger Delta, one deep offshore block, three onshore blocks in the Benin Basin, four onshore blocks in the Anambra Basin, four onshore blocks in the Chad Basin and four in the Benue Trough.
According to the commission, successful bidders will emerge through a weighted assessment of both technical and commercial criteria. The evaluation will consider the signature bonus, work programme commitments and performance security commitments.
The 2025 Licensing Round was announced on November 11, 2025, in line with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), 2021, while the bid portal opened for registration on December 1, 2025.”
As part of the process, NUPRC held a pre-bid conference on January 14, 2026, at Eko Hotels and Suites, Lagos, to familiarise registered bidders and other stakeholders with the guidelines governing the exercise.
Registration and submission of prequalification documents closed on February 27, 2026, while the prequalification exercise was completed on March 16, 2026.
The commission said 286 companies applied for prequalification, with 196 qualifying for the technical and commercial bidding stage. Of those, 143 companies submitted a total of 200 bids and have been invited to participate in Tuesday’s commercial bid conference.
NUPRC said the licensing exercise has been conducted through a transparent and rigorous process aimed at promoting competitiveness and attracting credible investment into Nigeria’s upstream petroleum sector.
