Nigeria has opened its 2026 licensing round, putting 40 oil blocks on the table in a fresh push to draw investors into the country’s upstream petroleum sector.
Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, chief executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, announced the round Tuesday in Abuja at the regulator’s fifth anniversary event. She said President Bola Tinubu and the petroleum resources minister approved it. The blocks span land, shallow water and deepwater areas, and are open to investors with the technical skill, financial strength and, in her words, “above all, the commitment” to develop the country’s resources.
What is new in the 2026 licensing round
The regulator says transparency and predictability will be central this time. Every bidder must disclose its beneficial owners, meaning the people who ultimately own or control the company. NUPRC also plans to publish more of its evaluation method and results, and to fold in recommendations from the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative.
Full details are not yet out. NUPRC said the guidelines, which will set out eligibility, bid parameters, evaluation criteria and conditions of award, will be posted on its website and licensing portal in the coming days.
Why the regulator thinks it will work
Eyesan pointed to the last round as proof. The 2025 round drew 200 bids from 143 companies, and 31 firms won 37 blocks. Interest also spread beyond the Niger Delta to frontier basins including the Anambra Basin, Benue Trough, Chad Basin and Benin Basin. NUPRC says those awards could add about 500 million barrels to Nigeria’s reserves and unlock roughly 300,000 barrels a day within three years.
Before the Petroleum Industry Act passed in 2021, she said, licensing rounds were rare and widely spaced. Since then, the regulator has run several, including the 2020 marginal field round, the 2022 and 2023 mini bid round and the 2024 and 2025 rounds. Together, she said, they account for about $103 billion in investment, spent or planned. The regulator also lowered entry costs in 2024 and 2025 to bring in more bidders.
What the round has to deliver
The government wants more oil. NUPRC has set a goal of raising reserves and has said it wants to nearly double output to 3 million barrels a day by 2030. The regulator reported that production topped 1.8 million barrels a day in July. It has also approved more than $57 billion in field development plans since 2024.
The timing is notable. Brent is trading near $100 a barrel, with global supply tight because of the standoff over the Strait of Hormuz. High prices can draw bidders, but they will weigh that against the usual Nigerian concerns, including fiscal terms, security and how quickly approvals move.
Oil firms will now wait for the guidelines. Whether this round matches last year’s turnout will depend on what they say.
