BREAKING: Nigeria Opens 2026 Oil Licensing Round, Offers 40 Oil Blocks to Investors

The Federal Government has officially opened Nigeria’s 2026 Oil Licensing Round, putting 40 oil and gas blocks across the country’s upstream sector on offer as the government intensifies efforts to attract fresh investment, expand exploration and increase petroleum production.

The exercise is being conducted by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), the regulator responsible for the administration and regulation of Nigeria’s upstream petroleum industry.

The latest licensing round comes shortly after the conclusion of the 2025 exercise, in which 31 companies emerged successful bidders for 37 out of 50 blocks initially offered. The 2025 round attracted 143 companies, which submitted 200 bids, demonstrating significant interest in Nigeria’s petroleum acreage.

40 Blocks Across Different Terrains

The 2026 round is expected to provide investors with opportunities across Nigeria’s land, shallow-water and deepwater terrains, opening another pathway for local and international energy companies seeking access to the country’s hydrocarbon resources.

The decision to conduct licensing rounds on a more regular basis represents a shift towards creating a more predictable pipeline of investment opportunities. NUPRC has said periodic licensing is necessary to sustain exploration, replenish reserves and give investors greater certainty over access to petroleum acreage.

Beneficial Ownership Disclosure

One of the key transparency elements associated with the new process is the requirement for bidders to disclose their beneficial ownership information.

The requirement is significant because beneficial ownership disclosure enables regulators and the public to identify the individuals who ultimately own or exercise significant control over companies participating in the process.

Nigeria already operates a Beneficial Ownership Register through the Corporate Affairs Commission, designed to identify persons with significant control over registered companies and improve transparency in corporate ownership.

Greater Transparency in Evaluation

The government is also moving towards greater disclosure around the evaluation process. The NUPRC has previously stated that its licensing exercises are designed around transparent, competitive and data-driven procedures.

In the 2025 round, technical assessments considered factors including bidders’ competence, experience, organisational and operational capacity, proposed work programmes and ability to deliver within specified timelines. Commercial evaluation included signature bonuses, work-programme commitments and performance security, with technical and commercial scores combined in determining successful bids.

For the 2026 round, greater publication of the evaluation methodology and results could provide investors and Nigerians with clearer insight into how petroleum assets are awarded.

Nigeria Seeks Fresh Upstream Capital

The new licensing round forms part of Nigeria’s wider strategy to revive investment in the upstream petroleum sector and increase production.

NUPRC has said Nigeria is targeting significantly higher oil production, with an ambition of reaching 3 million barrels per day by 2030. The regulator has also projected between $30 billion and $50 billion in potential investment from 22 major offshore projects expected between 2026 and 2030.

The 2026 licensing round therefore represents more than the allocation of additional oil blocks. It is another test of Nigeria’s ability to attract capital, encourage exploration, strengthen transparency and ensure that awarded assets are actually developed.

As competition for global energy investment intensifies, the success of the exercise will ultimately depend not only on how many companies submit bids, but also on whether successful investors can translate awarded acreage into exploration activity, discoveries, new production, jobs and government revenue.

For Nigeria, the message from the latest round is clear: the country is putting more upstream opportunities on the market and asking investors to bring the capital, technology and technical capacity required to develop them.