Nigeria is set to offer 40 oil and gas blocks to prospective investors as part of efforts to attract fresh capital into the petroleum sector, with the 2026 licensing round portal scheduled to open on November 20.
The Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Mrs Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, announced the development on Monday, calling on international investors to consider Nigeria as a viable investment destination amid growing tensions in the global energy market.
Speaking at the 2026 ADIPEC Exhibition and Conference in Abu Dhabi, Eyesan said the country had strengthened its investment climate and introduced attractive incentives to encourage participation in the forthcoming licensing round.
She made the disclosure during a roundtable discussion titled, ‘Energy Sovereignty in an Interconnected World: Aligning National Priorities, Markets and Global Security’, held on Monday, November 2, 2026.
According to a statement by the NUPRC Head of Media and Corporate Communications, Eniola Akinkuotu, the commission chief executive expressed confidence that the improved fiscal framework and enhanced security environment would generate considerable interest among prospective investors.
“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,” Eyesan said.
She added: “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.”
Eyesan attributed the improved investment outlook to reforms introduced following the enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) in 2021, as well as executive orders signed by President Bola Tinubu to reposition the oil and gas industry.
She noted that the NUPRC had conducted at least four successful licensing rounds between 2021 and 2026, resulting in increased investment opportunities for the country. The development, she said, marked a departure from the period before the PIA, when licensing rounds were less frequent.
Highlighting Nigeria's enormous energy resources, the NUPRC chief executive disclosed that the country holds an estimated 215 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of gas reserves but produces only about seven billion cubic feet (BCF) daily.
She described the gap between the country's vast gas reserves and its current production capacity as a significant investment opportunity, particularly with major infrastructure projects expected to improve supply and facilitate exports.
On the prospects for expanding gas distribution, Eyesan said Nigeria had completed major infrastructure projects expected to unlock additional supplies for domestic consumption and the wider African market.
“The stars are already aligned. For gas infrastructure we just completed very major infrastructure projects that will unlock gas supply in the country and the sub-region,” she said.
She also identified the proposed Nigeria-Morocco Atlantic Gas Pipeline and the Trans-Sahara Gas Pipeline as strategic projects capable of expanding Nigeria's access to international markets.
“We talk about two major projects on the drawing board to move gas through the Nigeria-Morocco Atlantic Gas Pipeline and Trans-Sahara Gas Pipeline. Again, this gas will go somewhere in Europe and will also meet regional demands. So, Nigeria is positioned to meet not just domestic supply,” the CCE stated.
However, Eyesan acknowledged that competition for investment in the global petroleum industry had intensified as more countries seek to develop their oil and gas resources.
She maintained that Nigeria had taken deliberate steps to position itself ahead of competing destinations by addressing concerns that could discourage investors, including project execution risks, operational costs, delays and policy uncertainties.
“We understand that investors will price execution risk, cost, delays and also uncertainty and so what we have done in Nigeria is to ensure that we guard against these risks and then attract the investment required to enable us unlock the huge resources we sit on,” she explained.