The Federal Government has further reduced the signature bonus for the 2025 oil licensing round, lowering the fee from the earlier $10m benchmark to a new range of $3m–$7m, according to an update from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
The commission said the move aims to ease entry barriers and attract more investors into Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.
NUPRC noted that bidders must now submit offers within the approved $3m–$7m range. This follows a major 2024 policy shift where signature bonuses were slashed from about $200m to $10m, after benchmarking global practices from countries like Brazil.
A signature bonus is a compulsory, non-refundable fee paid upon signing an oil or gas contract. Deepwater assets formerly attracted $10m, while shallow and onshore blocks required $7m. These rates have now dropped to $7m and $3m.
The commission also emphasized that payments must be made in US dollars, not naira.
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