NUPRC Sets Payment Deadline for 31 Winners of 2025 Oil Blocks
By Victor Idajili
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission has given 31 companies a strict deadline to pay their signature bonuses for oil blocks won in the 2025 Licensing Round, warning that defaulters will lose their awards.
The warning comes one month after NUPRC held the commercial bid conference in Abuja on July 21, 2026, where the winners emerged for 37 oil and gas blocks.
In a notice issued on Sunday, the commission said it had already started issuing provisional award letters and that the payment process was now active.
“Exactly a month ago, the NUPRC hosted the 2025 commercial bid conference in Abuja where 31 companies emerged winners of 37 oil and gas blocks. Having issued the winners with the provisional awards, compliance with the payment of signature bonuses has already begun,” the regulator stated.
NUPRC said any company that fails to pay within the time frame set by the Petroleum Industry Act will forfeit its bid guarantee. The provisional award will then be withdrawn and handed to the next-ranked reserve bidder.
Under PIA 2021 guidelines, successful bidders have 90 days to pay. With award letters issued on July 21, that means the deadline is October 19, 2026. Companies have 60 days left.
Signature bonuses range from $3 million to $7 million per block. Winners must also pay first-year rents and provide other required guarantees and documents within the same period.
The 37 blocks cover Petroleum Prospecting Licences across the Niger Delta onshore, shallow water, deep offshore, and frontier basins. They include PPL 2A29 to PPL 2A62 in the Niger Delta, PPL 2010 in deep offshore, PPL 308 in the Benin Basin, PPL 900 to PPL 903 in the Anambra Basin, PPL 700 in the Chad Basin, and PPL 800 and PPL 801 in the Benue Trough.
Out of 50 blocks initially offered, 13 received no bids. A total of 143 companies participated and submitted about 200 bids for the 37 blocks that attracted interest.
NUPRC also published the names of the 31 winning companies and the reserve bidders for each block.
NUPRC Chief Executive, Mrs Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, urged the winners to make payments without delay and begin work on the assets.
The commission advised stakeholders and the public to visit the 2025 Licensing Round portal for full details on the awards and compliance requirements.
