The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission has announced plans to launch another oil licensing bid round in 2025.
This decision was made public by the Chief Executive of NUPRC, Gbenga Komolafe, at the 2024 Licensing Round Commercial Bid Conference in Lagos.
According to Komolafe, the commission has decided to make licensing rounds an annual event to boost Nigeria’s oil production.
The 2025 round will focus on unexplored assets, including discovered and undeveloped fields, fallow assets, and natural gas development.
Komolafe emphasized that the regulator’s commitment has been to restore investors’ confidence in the industry, which has been achieved by ensuring its activities align with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act.
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“The law stipulates that the commission should conduct licensing rounds. The law did not make it annual, but to ensure that we grow, preserve, and optimise our hydrocarbon resources, as I said, we are committed to annual licensing rounds,” Komolafe explained.
The NUPRC boss also announced that the commission has started recovering idle assets based on the ‘drill or drop’ provision of the Petroleum Industry Act.
