The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has announced the review of the signature bonus of the 2025 licensing round from $10m to $3m and $7m.
According to the NUPRC, this is part of the government’s efforts to reduce entry barriers and for those interested in one of the oil blocks listed for the 2025 Licensing Round, the Nigerian government has graciously reduced the signature bonus to between $3m and $7m.
“All bidders shall be required to submit a bid within a range of $3m and $7m as approved by the minister of petroleum for the reduction of entry barriers,” the NUPRC said.
The Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission, Mr. Gbenga Komolafe, stated that the NUPRC surveyed what other countries like Brazil demand as signature bonuses from would-be investors and discovered the need to slash that of Nigeria.
A signature bonus is a non-refundable payment made by a contractor to the government upon the signing of an agreement. Firms who are awarded oil or gas assets are expected to pay signature bonuses to the Nigerian government.
It will be recalled that the NUPRC had announced last year that an investment in deepwater would attract $10m as a signature bonus, while shallow water and onshore attract $7m.
GIK/APA
