Nigeria Announces 2026 Round for 40 Oil and Gas Blocks

Nigeria’s upstream petroleum regulator has announced a 2026 licensing round offering 40 oil and gas blocks across land, shallow-water and deepwater areas, with new rules planned for disclosing bidders’ ownership and publishing how bids are evaluated. Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission Chief Executive Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan said the round followed President Bola Tinubu’s approval and invited qualified Nigerian and international investors to compete. Eyesan announced the round at the commission’s fifth-anniversary event in Abuja on October 6. The NUPRC said it would publish details of the blocks, qualification requirements and participation procedures on its website and licensing portal in the coming days. The blocks’ locations, bidding timetable and signature bonuses were not specified in the announcement. The planned guidelines respond to recommendations from the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, Eyesan said. They are expected to set out the evaluation methodology, provide for fuller publication of results and require every bidder to disclose its beneficial owners.