The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) will officially open its bid portal for the 2026 Licensing Round on November 20, 2026, offering 40 oil and gas blocks to prospective investors in a bid to drive fresh capital into the nation’s energy sector.
Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, Commission Chief Executive of the NUPRC, disclosed this on Monday during a roundtable panel, ‘Energy Sovereignty in an Interconnected World: Aligning National Priorities, Markets and Global Security,’ at the 2026 Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (ADIPEC).
Addressing global investors amid heightened geopolitical and energy tensions, Eyesan emphasised that Nigeria’s reformed upstream landscape presents a stable, highly competitive destination for foreign direct investment.
“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,” Eyesan stated.
“We expect to see interested investors because the environment is a lot more competitive. We have set a very attractive fiscal framework, enhanced security across operations, and introduced cost-management incentives.”
The NUPRC boss noted that since the passing of the Petroleum Industry Act in 2021, as well as the executive orders signed by President Bola Tinubu, Nigeria has seen an improvement in its investment climate.
Eyesan stated that between 2021 and 2026, the NUPRC had held at least four successful licensing rounds which had brought in more investments into the country. “This is a departure from the pre-PIA era where licensing rounds were not frequent.”
The CCE said that Nigeria possesses huge energy potential as it sits on 215TCF of gas, but daily production is barely 7bcf. This, she said, presents an opportunity to investors, especially in key gas infrastructure such as pipelines.
“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,” the CCE stated.
Eyesan maintained that with many countries discovering petroleum resources, the race for investments has become more competitive.
She said Nigeria was already ahead of the game as it had made certain modifications in order to attract the right capital.
“We understand that investors will prize execution risk, cost, delays and also uncertainty, and so what we have done in Nigeria is to ensure that we guard against these risks and then attract the investment required to enable us to unlock the huge resources we sit on,” the NUPRC boss said.
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