The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has pushed back against criticism of the 2025 oil and gas licensing round. The Commission argued that reports that portrayed the award of oil blocks as politically influenced distorted a process it described as transparent, competitive and technically driven. Speaking recently in Lagos at the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Nigeria Council Executive Masterclass on Energy Journalism at the weekend, the Commission Chief Executive (CCE), Mrs Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, represented by Mr. Dr. Amba Ndoma Egba, Deputy Director, Acreage Administration, said some media reports failed to reflect the technical and commercial rigour behind the exercise. “Others, regrettably, reduced a rigorous and competitive technical process to political speculation and unsubstantiated headlines,”. In what appeared to be a direct response to public debate surrounding the recently concluded bid round, the Commission said some reports had unfairly reduced a rigorous regulatory exercise to political speculation, warning that such narratives could weaken investor confidence in Nigeria’s upstream petroleum industry. She warned that inaccurate reporting could widen the gap between regulatory processes and public understanding of the petroleum industry.

Sun