With an established industry dating back to the 1950s, Nigeria is looking to regain its crown as  Africa's largest hydrocarbon producer. In 2025, the country produced a daily average of 1.65 million barrels of liquids and 7.5 billion cubic feet (bcf) of gas production with ambitious targets to reach 3 million barrels a day and 12 billion cubic feet a day by 2030.  

Whilst there remain challenges for companies to maintain capital discipline, especially in the face of weakening oil prices, many are looking for opportunities to provide growth options in their portfolios.  With world-class reserves holding an estimated   30 billion barrels of liquids and over 200 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of gas , Nigeria has attractive brownfield investment opportunities.

The latest licensing opportunity

Nigeria's government launched its 2025 licensing rounds on 1 December 2025. This latest round presents a significant opportunity for companies looking to enter or expand their portfolio in Africa's second largest hydrocarbon producing country. The round comes at a time when reforms and changes are translating to increased optimism around the oil and gas sector in Nigeria.

What's on offer

The bid round includes undeveloped fields in the Niger Delta as well as exploration blocks in frontier areas across the Anambra, Chad, Benue Trough and Benin basins. With improved fiscal terms and incentives passed in 2024, these assets have the potential to be part of NUPRC's Project 1MMBOPD and the government's ambitious target to reach three million barrels and 12 bcfd by 2030.

Wood Mackenzie's multi-client study

Wood Mackenzie has evaluated the opportunities on offer to provide operators, investors and industry stakeholders with an independent view of their relative commercial attractiveness. Our analysis delivers the critical insights you need to make informed bidding decisions.

Key deliverables

• Overview of the Nigerian upstream sector to include a summary of the PIA and the impact it has had on the upstream sector, an overview of the round and associated timelines and bid requirements
• In-depth analysis with valuation metrics, breakeven prices and associated maps
• Excel dashboard with output of economic models and sensitivity analysis showing the impact of cost and production changes
• PowerPoint report with detailed analysis of each opportunity, development scenarios and key risks/upsides
• High-level exploration summary including historical basin activity
• Exclusive webinar (early 2026, ahead of bid deadline) with our Nigeria upstream experts

Timeline and investment

• Report available: January 2026

With our extensive experience in bid round evaluation and strategy, Wood Mackenzie is uniquely positioned to help you assess this opportunity set and optimise your bid strategy.

Fill out our form above and secure your access today to ensure you have the insights needed before the bid deadline.