31 winners emerge in 2025 oil licensing round

Thirty-one companies yesterday emerged winners of 37 oil and gas blocks at the 2025 Licensing Round which held at the Transcorp Event Center, Abuja. A total of 143 companies had submitted 200 bids for 37 out of the 50 oil and gas blocks originally put on offer.

Of the 50 blocks on offer, 37 received bids while no bids were submitted for the remaining 13. The 37 blocks that attracted bids were drawn from all the terrains including the frontier basins like the Benue Trough, Chad Basin, Anambra Basin and the Benin Basin.

These blocks were drawn from diverse terrains including the Niger Delta Onshore 16; Niger Delta Shallow Water, 18;, Niger Delta Deep Offshore, one; Benin Basin Onshore, three; Anambra Basin Onshore, four; Chad Basin Onshore, four and Benue Trough, four.

A statement by the Head of Media and Communications, Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Eniola Akinkuotu, noted that yesterday’s licencing round marked the first time in the country’s energy landscape that frontier basins would attract such level of investor interest.

The companies that emerged winners of the 2025 Licensing Round include: SSonic Petroleum Limited (PPL 2A29), CFP Pipeline and Flowlines (2A30), Dutchford E&P Limited (2A32), Attabanson Global Company Limited (2A33 and PPL 901), Rosem Energy Limited (2A38), Pivot-GIS Limited (2A39), Network E&P (2A40), Asharami (2A41), LexOil (2A42), BVOF (2A43), GupscoEnergy Limited (2A44 and 2A51), Saratoga (2A45), Volante (2A46), Concept-Reel Petroleum Services Limited (2A47 and 2A55), Clinton Oil Field (2A48 and 2A62) and Nuway Oaklane Limited (2A49).

Others are Ramec (2A50), Italia (2A53), Blueridge E&P (2A54), Up Energies Limited (2A56), AYM Shafa (2A57), Blackrock Holdings Limited (2A58), Funtay Integrated Business Limited (2A59), Riparian Development and Production Limited (2A60), Nikstallis (2A61 and PPL 900), Stardeep Petroleum (PPL 2010), Dakoda & U Limited (PPL308 and PPL 800), Southborne Oil and Gas Limited (PPL 902), Lanaka Petroleum (PPL 903) HighbanResources Limited (PPL 700), Eyre Energy Limited (PPL 801).

In line with the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021, these firms will only be presented final awards after the payment of the appropriate signature bonus and the approval of the Minister of Petroleum Resources.

In her remarks, the Commission Chief Executive, Mrs. Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, thanked President Bola Tinubu for supporting the Commission to deliver a seamless licensing round.

While congratulating the winners, Eyesan urged them to pay their signature bonuses as quickly as possible and also develop their assets or risk losing them in line with the drill or drop provision enforced by the Commission.

The commercial bid conference was closely monitored by representatives of the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources, the Federal Ministry of Finance, the Nigeria Extractive Industry and Transparency Initiative (NEITI)and several other stakeholders in line with the extant laws.