Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, chief executive officer (CEO) of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), says the portal for the 2026 petroleum licensing round will officially open on November 20.
Eyesan spoke on Monday at the 2026 ADIPEC Exhibition and Conference in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
On October 7, the NUPRC announced the commencement of the 2026 licensing round, with 40 oil and gas blocks on offer.
Speaking at the conference, Eyesan said Nigeria was expecting investors to take advantage of the opportunities in its oil and gas sector.
“We are going in for another licensing round and we will be launching our bid portal on November 20. We expect to see interested investors because the environment is a lot more competitive,” the NUPRC boss said.
“We have set a very attractive fiscal framework for investors. The entire environment is a lot more secure. We have been able to manage costs with a lot of incentives for investors and we expect to see investors take up the offer when we open the portal.”
She said Nigeria’s investment climate had improved following the enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) in 2021 and the executive orders signed by President Bola Tinubu.
According to the NUPRC chief, the commission had conducted at least four successful licensing rounds between 2021 and 2026, attracting more investment into the country.
She said Nigeria had significant energy potential, with 215 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of gas reserves, but daily production remained at barely seven billion cubic feet (bcf).
Eyesan said the gap between the country’s gas reserves and production presented an opportunity for investors, particularly with key gas infrastructure projects in the pipeline.
“The stars are already aligned. For gas infrastructure, we just completed very major infrastructure projects that will unlock gas supply in the country and the sub-region,” Eyesan said.
“We talk about two major projects on the drawing board to move gas through the Nigeria-Morocco Atlantic Gas Pipeline and Trans-Sahara Gas Pipeline.
“Again, this gas will go somewhere in Europe and will also meet regional demands. So, Nigeria is positioned to meet not just domestic supply.”
The NUPRC chief said competition for investment had intensified as more countries discovered petroleum resources.
She said Nigeria was ahead of the curve, having introduced changes to attract the right capital into its oil and gas sector.
Eyesan said the government recognised that investors considered execution risks, costs, delays and uncertainty when making investment decisions.
She said Nigeria had taken steps to mitigate these risks and attract the investment needed to unlock its vast natural resources.
