Nigeria: NUPRC to Open 2026 Licensing Round Portal November 20

The Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, has said the portal for the 2026 petroleum licensing round will officially open on November 20.

Eyesan spoke on Monday at the 2026 ADIPEC Exhibition and Conference in Abu Dhabi.

The NUPRC had on October 7 announced the commencement of the 2026 licensing round, with 40 oil and gas blocks on offer.

Speaking at the conference, Eyesan said Nigeria expects investors to turn to the country for the new round.

"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," she said.

"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."

She said Nigeria's investment climate has improved following the enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) in 2021 and the executive orders signed by President Bola Tinubu.

According to the NUPRC chief, the commission had conducted at least four successful licensing rounds between 2021 and 2026, attracting more investments into the country.

She said Nigeria has significant energy potential, with 215 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of gas reserves, but daily production remains at barely seven billion cubic feet (bcf).

Eyesan said the gap between the country's gas reserves and production presents an opportunity for investors, particularly with key gas infrastructure projects in the pipeline.

"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," she said.

"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 noted that competition for investment has intensified as more countries discover petroleum resources, but said Nigeria is ahead of the curve, having introduced changes to attract the right capital into its oil and gas sector.

She added that the government recognises that investors consider execution risks, costs, delays, and uncertainty when making investment decisions, and has taken steps to mitigate these risks.