NIGERIA · ENERGY
Key Facts
- What is happening Nigeria’s upstream oil regulator will open the bid portal for its 2026 licensing round on Friday 20 November, with 40 oil and gas blocks on offer.
- Why it matters The portal is where companies submit bids, so 20 November starts the formal race for blocks that international investors, including US firms, are eligible to win.
- The numbers The round offers 40 blocks on land, in shallow water and in deep water; in the 2025 round, 143 companies bid for 37 of the 50 blocks offered.
- Who is who Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan runs the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), the state body that licenses oil fields; President Bola Tinubu approved the round.
- What to watch The block list, bid deadline, fees and fiscal terms, none of which has been confirmed, and whether US and other foreign companies bid once the portal opens.
- What it means for you US oil firms and funds can take part, while the US State Department tells Americans to reconsider travel to Nigeria, a Level 3 advisory.
Nigeria’s oil regulator says the bid portal for 40 oil and gas blocks opens on Friday 20 November. The announcement gave no bid deadline or fees.
Nigeria will open the online bid portal for its 2026 oil licensing round on Friday 20 November, its upstream regulator has said. Forty oil and gas blocks are on offer, and foreign investors are eligible to bid.
Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, chief executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), gave the date on Monday 2 November. For US readers, it is the first firm date for bidding in a round that opened on 6 October.
What the Regulator Announced
Eyesan spoke at ADIPEC, the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference, a big yearly oil industry gathering. At a roundtable there she said the bid portal would open on 20 November.
The session was titled Energy Sovereignty in an Interconnected World. A statement from the regulator’s media chief, Eniola Akinkuotu, carried her remarks to the Nigerian press.
Eyesan told investors that Nigeria offers a stable climate despite global energy tensions. She also described a very attractive fiscal framework, meaning the tax and royalty rules for oil companies.
What Is on Offer in the Round
The round offers 40 blocks across land, shallow water and deep water. The block names, basins and split by terrain could not be confirmed from the regulator’s public statements.
The round opened on Tuesday 6 October in Abuja, after President Bola Tinubu approved it. The regulator said then that block details and qualification rules would follow on its website and portal in the coming days.
- Licensing round: a competition in which the state offers oil and gas blocks and companies bid for the right to explore and produce.
- Block: a defined area of land or seabed where a licence holder may search for and produce oil or gas.
- Bid portal: the regulator’s website where companies submit their bids and documents.
- Shallow water and deep water: offshore areas; deep water means far from shore, where wells cost more but fields can be large.
- Beneficial owner: the real person who ultimately owns or controls a company.
How Bidding Is Meant to Work
Every bidder must disclose its beneficial owners. The regulator also says it will publish its scoring method and fuller results.
Nigerian and international investors are both eligible to bid. The promised qualification rules could not be confirmed as published.
Why the Nigeria Oil Bid Portal Date Matters
Until the portal opens, companies cannot file bids, so 20 November starts the formal race for the 40 blocks. No bid deadline or award date has been announced in the statements that could be confirmed.
Eyesan said investors weigh execution risk, cost, delays and uncertainty, and that Nigeria has taken steps to lower them. She credited the Petroleum Industry Act of 2021, the law that reformed the sector, and executive orders signed by Tinubu.
She also stressed gas, with about 215 trillion cubic feet of reserves but output of only about 7 billion cubic feet daily. At that pace, the reserves equal more than 80 years of output.
She named two proposed gas pipelines, the Nigeria-Morocco Atlantic Gas Pipeline and the Trans-Sahara Gas Pipeline. Both are still on the drawing board and would carry gas towards Europe and regional markets.
Earlier Rio Times reports include Nigeria Offers 40 Oil Blocks in New Licensing Round and Nigeria Natural Resources Explained 2026. See also Nigerian Oil Near US$115 on Hormuz Attacks and the Nigeria hub.
What It Means for US Readers
Both Nigerian and international investors are eligible to bid, so US oil companies can take part once the portal opens. Fees, deadlines and fiscal terms matter most to them, and none has been confirmed.
The US State Department tells Americans to reconsider travel to Nigeria, a Level 3 advisory. It lists Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers, except Port Harcourt, among its Do Not Travel states, which include oil-producing areas.
What Is Not Known
The names of the 40 blocks, the bid deadline, the fees and the fiscal terms could not be confirmed. The regulator’s own news page could not be opened, so the date rests on its statement as carried by several Nigerian outlets.
The date is an announcement made at a conference, not a published notice. Statements also differ on how many licensing rounds the regulator has held since 2021.
What Comes Next
The next step is Friday 20 November, when the portal is due to open. That does not mean awards are close, since no bid deadline has been announced.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does Nigeria’s oil bid portal open?
Nigeria’s upstream regulator says the portal for its 2026 licensing round opens on Friday 20 November. The date was announced on Monday 2 November.
How many oil and gas blocks are on offer?
The round offers 40 blocks on land, in shallow water and in deep water. The block list and the split by terrain could not be confirmed.
Can US companies bid in Nigeria’s licensing round?
Nigerian and international investors are both eligible, so US companies can take part. Every bidder must disclose its beneficial owners, the real people behind the company.
Is it safe for Americans to travel to Nigeria?
The US State Department rates Nigeria Level 3, Reconsider Travel, and lists several states as Do Not Travel. Check the current advisory before any trip.
Sources: Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, licensing round announcements; ADIPEC, Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference; US State Department, Nigeria travel advisory (all accessed 3 November 2026).
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief