Get Guardian on GoogleNigeria is banking on an improved fiscal framework, enhanced security and reduced investment risks to attract fresh capital into its upstream petroleum sector, as it prepares to open the bidding portal for its 2026 oil and gas licensing round on November 20.
The Commission Chief Executive, Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Mrs Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, disclosed this at the 2026 Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (ADIPEC) in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Monday.
Eyesan, who spoke during a roundtable discussion titled ‘Energy Sovereignty in an Interconnected World: Aligning National Priorities, Markets and Global Security’, urged international investors to take advantage of the licensing round, which offers 40 oil and gas blocks.
She said Nigeria had introduced an attractive fiscal regime and incentives to improve competitiveness, while strengthening security and addressing operational challenges that have historically discouraged investment.
“We are expecting investors to turn to Nigeria. We are going in for another licensing round and we will be launching our bid portal on November 20. We expect to see interested investors because the environment is a lot more competitive.
“We have set a very attractive fiscal framework for investors. The entire environment is a lot more secure. We have been able to manage costs with a lot of incentives for investors and we expect to see investors take up the offer when we open the portal,” she said.
The NUPRC chief executive attributed the improving investment climate to the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021 and executive orders introduced by President Bola Tinubu to reposition the sector.
According to her, Nigeria has conducted at least four successful licensing rounds between 2021 and 2026, marking a departure from the pre-PIA period when bidding exercises were less frequent.
Beyond crude oil, Eyesan identified Nigeria’s largely untapped gas resources as another major investment opportunity, noting that the country holds about 215 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of proven gas reserves but produces barely seven billion cubic feet daily.
She said recent investments in major gas infrastructure projects would help unlock supplies for domestic consumption, regional markets and international exports.
Eyesan also highlighted the proposed Nigeria-Morocco Atlantic Gas Pipeline and Trans-Sahara Gas Pipeline as strategic projects capable of expanding Nigeria’s access to African and European markets.
She, however, acknowledged that competition for global petroleum investments had intensified, requiring host countries to address investors’ concerns about execution risks, project costs, delays and policy uncertainty.
“What we have done in Nigeria is to ensure that we guard against these risks and then attract the investment required to enable us to unlock the huge resources we sit on,” she said.
The 2026 licensing round is expected to test the effectiveness of Nigeria’s fiscal incentives and regulatory reforms in translating its substantial hydrocarbon resources into new exploration, production and investment commitments.
