Nigeria to Launch Fresh Oil Licensing Round November 20

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has announced plans to launch the 2026 oil and gas licensing round on November 20, offering 40 blocks to investors as the federal government seeks to attract fresh investment into the upstream petroleum sector.

The organisation’s chief executive, Mrs Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, disclosed this during a roundtable discussion titled Energy Sovereignty in an Interconnected World: Aligning National Priorities, Markets and Global Security, at the 2026 Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Monday.

In a statement issued by the Head of Media and Corporate Communications of the NUPRC, Mr Eniola Akinkuotu, Mrs Eyesan urged international investors to take advantage of the licensing round, noting that Nigeria was offering a more competitive investment environment amid growing global energy tensions.

In the statement, she said, “Nigeria offers a stable climate amid the global energy tensions and therefore urged investors to look towards Nigeria by taking advantage of the 2026 Licensing Round, which has 40 oil and gas blocks on offer. She also disclosed that the licensing round portal will officially open on November 20, 2026.”

“We are expecting investors to turn to Nigeria. We are going in for another licensing round, and we will be launching our bid portal on November 20. We expect to see interested investors because the environment is a lot more competitive.

“We have set a very attractive fiscal framework for investors. The entire environment is a lot more secure. We have been able to manage costs with a lot of incentives for investors, and we expect to see investors take up the offer when we open the portal,” Mrs Eyesan further said.

The 2026 licensing round represents another attempt by the federal government to attract fresh capital into the upstream petroleum sector, increase exploration activities and boost crude oil and gas production.

Mrs Eyesan attributed the improvement in Nigeria’s investment climate to the Petroleum Industry Act, signed into law in 2021, and executive orders introduced by President Bola Tinubu to address bottlenecks in the petroleum industry.

She said the reforms had improved the regulatory environment and positioned Nigeria to compete more effectively for investments, adding that the NUPRC had conducted at least four successful licensing rounds between 2021 and 2026.

The NUPRC’s boss also highlighted Nigeria’s gas potential, disclosing that the country had about 215 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves, while daily production remained below seven billion cubic feet.

She said the completion of major gas infrastructure projects would help unlock supply within Nigeria and the sub-region, while proposed projects such as the Nigeria-Morocco Atlantic Gas Pipeline and Trans-Sahara Gas Pipeline would expand export opportunities.

“The stars are already aligned. For gas infrastructure, we just completed very major infrastructure projects that will unlock gas supply in the country and the sub-region.

“We talk about two major projects on the drawing board to move gas through the Nigeria-Morocco Atlantic Gas Pipeline and Trans-Sahara Gas Pipeline. Again, this gas will go somewhere in Europe and will also meet regional demands. So, Nigeria is positioned to meet not just domestic supply,” she stated.