Nigeria will launch a new oil and gas licensing round by the third quarter of 2026 after President Bola Tinubu approved the exercise, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission said, extending a strategy of back-to-back bid rounds aimed at reviving investment in the country's flagship industry. The regulator said preparations were beginning ahead of schedule, in line with the rules governing how upstream petroleum assets are allocated.
The 2026 round continues an effort to reverse years of underinvestment in Nigeria's upstream sector, which has been weighed down by aging infrastructure, security problems in the Niger Delta and uncertainty that long deterred international capital. Africa's largest crude producer has sought to rebuild momentum since enacting sweeping sector reforms in recent years.
NUPRC officials said they were making the latest exercise more competitive by lowering entry thresholds and broadening access for prospective bidders, hoping to attract a wider pool of domestic and international participants. Global upstream capital remains selective, and Nigeria is competing with other producers for a limited supply of new exploration spending.
The commission tied investor interest to recent gains in crude output and improving inflows it credited to reforms under the Tinubu administration, which has moved to deregulate fuel prices and overhaul the way the industry is governed. Officials cast the participation in current rounds as a sign of returning confidence in the sector.
Oil remains central to Nigeria's public finances, accounting for a large share of government revenue and the bulk of foreign-exchange earnings, even as the country works to diversify its economy. Sustaining production and luring fresh investment are seen as essential to funding the national budget and stabilizing the naira.
The licensing round will formally open in the third quarter, the regulator said, with the government betting that lower barriers and a steadier policy environment will translate into firm bids and, eventually, new barrels from one of the continent's most important energy markets.