The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has said its 2026 oil and gas licensing round is aimed at deepening exploration, increasing production and attracting fresh investment into Nigeria’s upstream sector.
The commission is offering 40 oil and gas blocks in the 2026 licensing round as part of efforts to expand the country’s production base and increase government revenue from the sector.
Speaking at the 2026 NAEC Energy Conference, NUPRC Chief Executive, Mrs. Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, said the commission had continued to review investment barriers and improve the quality of geological and technical data available to prospective investors.
Eyesan, who was represented by Taymesan Olatunde, said the 2026 round followed previous licensing exercises conducted by the commission, including the 2022/2023, 2024 and 2025 rounds.
According to her, the objective of the successive rounds is to deepen exploration, increase production and expand revenues from the petroleum sector.
She said the commission had taken steps to make investment in Nigeria’s upstream sector more attractive, including reducing signature bonuses and providing technical data to guide investors’ decisions.
Eyesan said the 2025 licensing round attracted significant investor interest, including in frontier basins, indicating growing interest in areas beyond Nigeria’s traditional producing regions.
She said the commission would maintain transparency and predictability in the 2026 licensing process, with eligibility requirements, bid parameters, evaluation criteria and conditions of award clearly set out in the licensing round guidelines.
“The Nigeria 2026 licensing round guideline will clearly set out the eligibility requirements, bid parameters, evaluation criteria and conditions of award,” she said.
Eyesan said the criteria would be applied consistently to eligible investors, whether Nigerian or international, to provide a level playing field.
She said the process would be supported by a virtual data room, webinars and a dedicated helpdesk to provide information and clarification to prospective investors.
Beyond the licensing round, Eyesan disclosed that the commission was also working to increase production from existing assets through well re-entry and drilling activities.
She added that the commission was also working to improve domestic gas delivery as part of efforts to strengthen the upstream sector and support Nigeria’s broader energy objectives.
The NUPRC chief executive also highlighted the role of the media in attracting investment into Nigeria’s petroleum industry.
She said energy journalists could influence how the country and its petroleum sector were perceived by prospective investors, noting that reporting could either attract investment or discourage investors.
Eyesan commended the Association of Energy Correspondents of Nigeria (NAEC) for sustaining its annual conference and providing a platform for stakeholders to discuss developments and opportunities in the energy sector.
She congratulated NAEC on the conference and said continued collaboration between regulators, industry stakeholders and the media would be important to the growth of Nigeria’s petroleum industry.