FG Returns 13 Oil Blocks to Licensing Pool as 37 Assets Attract Active Bids

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Following the opening of the commercial bidding phase in Abuja on Tuesday, July 21, 2026, the Federal Government disclosed that 13 out of the 50 oil and gas blocks offered under the 2025/2026 Licensing Round will be returned to the national licensing pool after failing to attract prospective investor bids.

The announcement was made by the Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, during her opening address at the 2025 Commercial Bid Conference.

While 13 assets received no representations, the remaining 37 blocks successfully attracted intense commercial interest, drawing about 200 bids from 143 prequalified firms.

The Numbers Behind the Bidding Round

Despite returning a quarter of the offered assets to the basket, the NUPRC hailed the overall turnout as a clear indicator of returning investor confidence under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│          2025/2026 LICENSING FUNNEL          │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Initial Expressions of Interest : ~300 firms │
│ Cleared Prequalified Firms      :  196 firms │
│ Active Commercial Bidders       :  143 firms │
│ Total Commercial Bids Submitted : ~200 bids  │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────┘

(Source: NUPRC Official Conference Disclosures)

“When we started the journey, we got interest from almost 300 companies. That, in my view, was an indication that the tide has turned for Nigeria… At the end of the exercise, we had 50 blocks on offer, but we only had representation for 37 of those 50 blocks. Thirteen of those blocks will be returning back to the basket.” — Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, Chief Executive, NUPRC

Why Did 13 Blocks Fail to Attract Bids?

While the NUPRC did not immediately publish the exact geographical codes of the 13 unbid blocks, industry analysts at the Abuja conference pointed to two primary drivers behind the low investor appetite for those specific assets:

Risk Profile of Frontier Basins: The 50-block portfolio included inland greenfield assets across the Chad Basin, Benue Trough, and Anambra Basin. Investors consistently prioritized proven brownfield and shallow-water assets in the core Niger Delta over unproven inland frontier terrains requiring massive exploratory capital expenditures (CapEx).
CapEx Allocation & Security Realities: Given tighter global credit conditions for fossil fuel projects, bidding consortiums selectively deployed capital toward assets with immediate ties to existing evacuation infrastructure, leaving high-risk, isolated blocks without offers.

What Happens Next to the Returned Blocks?

Under the regulatory framework of the PIA 2021, returning the 13 assets to the national licensing pool gives the government two primary pathways forward:

Regulatory Option	Tactical Execution
1. Future Licensing Rounds	The NUPRC can repackage the assets with modified fiscal terms or improved geological survey data before re-offering them in future mini-bid rounds.
2. Out-of-Cycle Direct Negotiation	Subject to strict ministerial approvals, qualified strategic investors with specialized technology (e.g., frontier basin drillers) can formally apply to evaluate and negotiate terms for the unbid blocks out-of-cycle.

Meanwhile, evaluation teams in Abuja have begun scoring the ~200 bids across the 37 active blocks using a combined technical-commercial matrix—weighing signature bonus offers, proposed work programs, and performance security—to select the winning operators.

Ayodele Quadri

Correspondent