Nigeria’s oil and gas licensing round has advanced to the commercial bidding stage, with 143 companies competing for 50 petroleum blocks spread across the country’s established and frontier hydrocarbon basins.

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission said only firms that cleared its technical and regulatory prequalification requirements were invited to bid, with blocks on offer spanning the Niger Delta Onshore, Niger Delta Shallow Water and Deep Offshore zones, plus the Benin, Anambra and Chad basins and the Benue Trough.

Bids are being scored on signature bonus offers, proposed work programmes and performance security commitments, combined into a weighted technical and commercial assessment. Of 286 companies that initially applied, 196 were approved to advance, and 143 went on to submit a combined 200 bids for the available acreage.

NUPRC said the licensing round, launched under the Petroleum Industry Act of 2021, is part of a broader push to lift crude oil and gas production, strengthen energy security, boost government revenue and supply feedstock to Nigeria’s expanding refining sector. The commission will announce successful bidders once the remaining evaluation stages are complete.

Source: angolanminingoilandgas.com