The Federal Government has issued a firm warning to prospective investors in the 2025 oil licensing round, stating that there will be no refunds of signature bonuses or exchanges of oil assets under any circumstances.
Okay News reports that Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, delivered the message at the 2025 Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) pre-bid conference held in Lagos on Wednesday.
The conference, well-attended both physically and virtually, aimed to educate bidders on available assets, the legal framework, and the risks involved in the licensing process.
Lokpobiri declared that the era of acquiring oil licences for speculation, prestige, or resale is over, stressing that licences are government assets that must be actively developed.
He recounted challenges from the 2020 bid round, where several winners sought refunds of bidding fees or alternative acreages after discovering the awarded assets did not meet expectations.
“I’ve had obligations to solve so many problems following the 2020 bid round. The government received several representations from people who won those bids; some of them came for refunds of their bidding fees,” he said.
The minister emphasised that the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) does not provide for asset exchanges or refunds on such grounds.
“Once a bid is completed and an award is made in line with the law, the technical and commercial risks rest entirely with the bidder,” Lokpobiri stated.
He warned against holding oil blocks without development, describing licences as instruments of value creation rather than personal trophies.
“What I’ve discovered in my over two years at the ministry is that some people have had licences for 20 years, and they are very proud, going around the world with the nicest suits and saying, ‘Look, I have a licence.’ What value have you added to yourself?” he asked.
Lokpobiri anchored the 2025 licensing round firmly on the PIA, citing Sections 73 and 74, which require transparent, competitive, and non-discriminatory award processes based on financial, technical, and work programme parameters.
He urged companies without sufficient capital to collaborate with credible partners to ensure bid viability, adding that hydrocarbons will remain central to global energy supply for decades.
“Fossil fuel resources will never go away. They will constitute over 50 per cent of global energy sources for the foreseeable future,” he said.
NUPRC Chief Executive Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan reinforced the minister’s position, stating that reforms under the PIA have eliminated practices that previously encouraged asset hoarding.
“Hitherto, we had instruments that supported block sitting. With the advent of the PIA, if you do not work your blocks, it will be taken from you. And many of the assets on offer today are recovered as fallow fields,” she said.
Eyesan announced a revision of the signature bonus approved by President Bola Tinubu to reduce entry barriers, alongside adjustments to other fees payable before first oil.
She added that the commission plans to commence the 2026 bid round almost immediately, running preliminary processes alongside the 2025 round to ensure continuity.
Beyond licensing, Eyesan unveiled a sweeping reform agenda to accelerate oil production, improve regulatory efficiency, and tighten hydrocarbon accountability.
The Federal Government targets crude oil output of three million barrels per day by 2030.
At a separate stakeholder engagement in Lagos, she disclosed a 90-day programme to fast-track approvals for near-ready Field Development Plans, well interventions, rig mobilisation, and other “quick-win” opportunities capable of delivering early barrels.
“The commission, going forward, will issue quarterly progress reports. Let us therefore bring all high-impact shut-in fields for approval,” she said, noting that a long shut-in asset had recently been brought back on stream.
Eyesan said her vision for the upstream sector rests on three pillars: production optimisation and revenue expansion; regulatory predictability and speed; and safe, governed, and sustainable operations.
She added that the agenda aligns with President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda to raise production to two million barrels per day by 2027 and three million barrels per day by 2030.
The commission will publish Service Level Agreements outlining approval timelines, deploy digital workflows for permitting and data submissions, and run regulation “like a service” through transparent, time-bound decisions.
Eyesan urged operators with mature opportunities to submit projects before the end of the first quarter of 2026 and announced the creation of a monthly CCE–Operators Leadership Forum involving NNPC, OPTS, IPPG, and emerging producers.
“Going forward, the commission will be measured by faster and more predictable approvals, higher and more secure production, credible licensing, disciplined acreage performance, world-class health, safety, and environment outcomes, and trusted data integrity,” she said.
Nigeria, Africa’s largest oil producer, has struggled with declining output due to underinvestment, oil theft, and regulatory delays, but the Federal Government says current reforms are aimed at restoring investor confidence and reversing the trend.
