The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has announced a major adjustment to the financial terms for the 2025 petroleum licensing round, reducing the signature bonus to a range of $3 million to $7 million. The move is aimed at lowering entry barriers and attracting broader investor participation in Nigeria’s upstream sector.
A signature bonus is a one-time payment made by oil companies when they sign an agreement to obtain exploration or production rights. In a statement released on Monday, NUPRC warned that any bidder who fails to submit a proposal within the approved range will be automatically disqualified.
The Commission explained that bidders will be evaluated through a score-based system that considers the size of the signature bonus (within the approved threshold), the proposed work programme, and unit development costs. Additional criteria include professionalism, technical capacity, bank guarantees, financial strength, environmental commitments, and corporate governance standards.
The announcement follows the December 1 launch of the 2025 Licensing Round, which introduced a digital portal and placed 50 oil and gas blocks on offer across deepwater, shallow offshore, frontier basins, and onshore terrains. Commission Chief Executive Gbenga Komolafe said the new round is expected to attract up to $10 billion in investment, add two billion barrels to Nigeria’s reserves over the next decade, and deliver 400,000 barrels per day from fully developed assets.
Komolafe stressed that transparency is central to the process, noting that all bidding guidelines have been published on the Commission’s website. The bid process will run in two stages: a qualification phase, followed by competitive bidding.
The Federal Government concluded its previous licensing round in 2024 the first under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) with several indigenous firms securing Petroleum Prospecting Licences (PPLs). Historically, Nigeria has held major licensing rounds in 2000, 2005, and 2007, though many awarded blocks have faced delays due to technical, financial, and regulatory challenges.
The latest reforms are expected to streamline participation, reduce investor costs, and bolster exploration activities as Nigeria works to revitalise its upstream potential.
