The dream that a private sector-led oil exploration drive will return to northern Nigeria and other frontier basins where taxpayers’ money has been invested in recent years suffered a major setback yesterday after investors outrightly refused to bid for oil blocks in most inland basins.
This is coming four years after the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) led former President Muhammadu Buhari to Kolmani, announcing a one billion-barrel oil discovery, 500 billion standard cubic feet of gas, a proposed $3 billion investment, a refinery, fertiliser plant as well as gas-fired power plants.
Unlike previous bid rounds, 13 of the oil blocks marketed by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) failed to attract any investor interest.
Three of the four marketed blocks in the Chad Basin received no bids, while two blocks each in the Benue and Benin basins were ignored. More significantly, six blocks in the Niger Delta also failed to attract bidders, raising fresh questions over the commercial attractiveness of the 2025 licensing round despite repeated assurances by regulators that investor confidence had returned.
The Guardian exclusively reports that oil block without bids include Ayama PPL 2A52 in the shallow waters of the Niger Delta, Foniwetoiro PPL 2A37, Olori PPL 2A36, Misty PPL 2A35, Kenam PPL 2A34 and Ikuru PPL 2A31, alongside PPL 309, PPL 307, PPL 802, PPL 803, PPL 701, PPL 702 and PPL 703 located across the inland basins.
The Federal Government confirmed that the 13 blocks would now be returned to the licensing basket after failing to receive bids during the 2025 Licensing Round.
