Key takeaways:
- Nigeria’s upstream regulator has warned companies to pay signature bonuses or lose their provisional awards
- Winning bidders must pay bonuses ranging from $3 million to $7 million per block within a 90-day window
- Companies that fail to pay by around October 19 will forfeit their bid guarantee and see the block reassigned to a reserve bidder
Nigeria’s upstream oil regulator has warned 31 companies that won 37 oil and gas blocks in the country’s 2025 Licensing Round to pay their signature bonuses within the stipulated period or risk losing their provisional awards.
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) issued the warning on Sunday, exactly one month after hosting the commercial bid conference in Abuja, according to a notice seen by local newspaper, The Punch.
“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 commission said.
The 37 blocks span Petroleum Prospecting Licences across the Niger Delta onshore, shallow water and deep offshore areas, as well as frontier basins, including PPL 2A29 to PPL 2A62 in the Niger Delta, PPL 2010 in the 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.
A total of 143 companies participated in the licensing round, submitting about 200 bids for the 37 blocks, though 13 of the 50 blocks initially offered attracted no bids.
What happens if companies miss the deadline
Meanwhile, under the Petroleum Industry Act and applicable licensing guidelines, successful bidders must pay signature bonuses ranging from $3 million to $7 million per block.
They are also required to provide the necessary guarantees, pay first-year rents and satisfy other post-award conditions within the prescribed period.
“Winners who fail to pay signature bonuses within the stipulated time frame in line with the Petroleum Industry Act will forfeit their bid guarantee and lose their provisional awards to the reserve bidders,” the NUPRC said.
Failure to meet the requirements triggers an automatic transfer of the affected award to the next-ranked reserve bidder, according to the commission, which has also published the names of the 31 successful companies alongside the ranked reserve bidders for each of the 37 blocks.
The clock is already running on a 90-day window
Under PIA 2021 guidelines, winning bidders must pay their signature bonuses within a strict 90-day window.
Since provisional award letters were issued immediately following the commercial bid conference on July 21, 2026, 30 days have already elapsed, leaving companies with 60 days remaining to remit the funds. That timeline means the regulator expects signature bonuses to be paid on or before October 19, 2026.
If a winning company fails to complete payment of its statutory signature bonus along with first-year rent within the 90-day window, the company automatically forfeits its bid guarantee, and the provisional award is revoked and immediately reassigned to the designated reserve bidder for that asset.
NUPRC Chief Executive Officer, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, had earlier urged successful bidders to make the required payments without delay and begin development of their awarded assets.
In other development, the commission also directed interested members of the public and stakeholders to the 2025 Licensing Round portal for further information on the awards and compliance requirements.
