By ebosele@hotmail.com
No fewer than 31 companies have emerged successful bidders for 37 oil and gas blocks following the conclusion of Nigeria’s 2025 Licensing Round held at the Transcorp Event Centre, Abuja, on July 21, 2026.
City Business News reports that the highly competitive exercise attracted 143 companies, which collectively submitted 200 bids for 37 of the 50 oil and gas blocks offered by the Federal Government.
The blocks were spread across several hydrocarbon-rich terrains, comprising 16 Niger Delta Onshore blocks, 18 Niger Delta Shallow Water blocks, one Niger Delta Deep Offshore block, three Benin Basin Onshore blocks, four Anambra Basin Onshore blocks, four Chad Basin Onshore blocks and four Benue Trough blocks.
Out of the 50 blocks offered, 37 attracted bids, while the remaining 13 received no submissions. Significantly, the successful bids covered all the terrains on offer, including frontier basins such as the Benue Trough, Chad Basin, Anambra Basin and Benin Basin.
The development marks a major milestone for Nigeria’s upstream petroleum sector, as it is the first time the country’s frontier basins have attracted such a high level of investor interest during a licensing round.
The successful companies 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), Gupsco Energy 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 (PPL 308 and PPL 800), Southborne Oil and Gas Limited (PPL 902), Lanaka Petroleum (PPL 903), Highban Resources Limited (PPL 700), and Eyre Energy Limited (PPL 801).
The outcome of the 2025 Licensing Round is expected to stimulate fresh investments in exploration and production activities, expand hydrocarbon development across both mature and frontier basins, and reinforce Nigeria’s position as one of Africa’s leading destinations for oil and gas investment.
