Nigeria to open 40 oil blocks to bids on November 20

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission will open its bid portal for Nigeria’s 2026 oil and gas licensing round on November 20, with 40 blocks available to local and international investors.

The Commission’s Chief Executive, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, announced the date on Monday, November 2, 2026, at the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference. A statement issued by Eniola Akinkuotu, the Commission’s Head of Media and Corporate Communications, confirmed it.

Speaking at a roundtable on energy sovereignty, Eyesan told investors to look at Nigeria. She said the country is holding another licensing round and that the bid portal will open on November 20. She said the Federal Government has set up a fiscal framework and introduced incentives to help investors manage costs and reduce operational risk.

The Federal Government opened the 2026 licensing round in October, offering 40 blocks across onshore, shallow-water and deepwater areas. The blocks are open to both local and foreign investors.

Eyesan credited the improved investment climate partly to the Petroleum Industry Act, enacted in 2021, and to executive orders signed by President Bola Tinubu. She said the Commission has held at least four licensing rounds between 2021 and 2026, bringing in additional investment. She contrasted that with the period before the Act, when licensing rounds were less frequent.

She also said the government is working to address the concerns investors weigh before committing capital, including project execution risk, costs, delays and regulatory uncertainty.

Eyesan put Nigeria’s gas reserves at an estimated 215 trillion cubic feet, with daily production of about 7 billion cubic feet. She said recently completed infrastructure projects should improve gas supply within Nigeria and the region. She identified the proposed Nigeria-Morocco Atlantic Gas Pipeline and the Trans-Sahara Gas Pipeline as projects that could extend Nigerian gas to regional and international markets, including Europe.

The 2025 licensing round awarded 37 oil and gas blocks to 31 companies after a competitive bidding process.