Technical Competence, Not Highest Bid, Will Determine Oil Block Winners – FG

The Federal Government has stated that submitting the highest financial offer will not automatically guarantee victory in the ongoing 2025 Licensing Round for Nigeria’s petroleum assets.

Speaking at the 2025 Commercial Bid Conference in Abuja, the Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, emphasized that technical competence, operational capacity, and long-term value creation will serve as decisive criteria alongside financial readiness.

Eyesan explained that the commission’s rigorous evaluation process aims to ensure assets are awarded to credible operators capable of developing them effectively.

“The evaluation was rigorous, objective, and simple designed to place assets in the hands of bidders capable of delivering the best overall long-term value. It isn’t going to be just about your ability to be the highest bidder. We want to ensure that you have the right capabilities to deliver the assets,” Eyesan noted.

The assessment criteria cover several key areas:

* Technical competence and past operational experience

* Organizational and operational capacity

* Credibility of proposed work programs

* Resource commitment and execution timelines

Under the established guidelines, winning proposals will be selected through a weighted evaluation combining commercial offers such as signature bonus commitments with technical scores and performance security.

The 2025 Licensing Round features 50 oil and gas blocks across seven sedimentary basins, including onshore, shallow water, deep offshore, and inland basin assets. The commercial bid opening marks the final stage of the selection process before the announcement of successful concessionaires.