Nigerian govt returns 13 oil blocks to licensing basket as 143 firms submit bids

The Federal Government has announced that 13 of the 50 oil and gas blocks offered under the 2025 Licensing Round will be returned to the licensing basket after failing to attract bids from investors.

The Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, disclosed this on Tuesday during an event in Abuja.

According to her, although 50 oil and gas blocks were offered in the licensing round, only 37 attracted interest from prospective investors.

“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,” she said.

Eyesan, however, described the overall level of participation as encouraging, revealing that 143 companies submitted about 200 bids for the available assets.

“We have a total of 143 companies showing interest for 200 bids. That, for us, was remarkable, and I must say thank you,” Eyesan said.